Ligue 1 preview: Marseille keen to bounce back

Championship contenders Marseille will look to ignite a consistent run of results in Ligue 1 when they travel to Bastia on Wednesday.

Marseille have struggled to string wins together since they opened the season with six victories on the bounce.

Elie Baup’s men have lost three of their past five league outings, included two successive defeats on home soil, most recently a shock 3-0 loss against Lorient on Sunday.

As a result, Marseille have slipped down to third and five points off the pace and it won’t get any easier against Bastia, who have four wins from their six home games this season.

Paris Saint-Germain returned to form on Saturday with a 4-0 drubbing of Evian and could move within two points if results go their way midweek.

The result came in the wake of their 2-1 win over Porto in Champions League action midweek and manager Carlo Ancelotti was clearly delighted with the performance.

“It’s nice confirmation (of form) after the victory against Porto,” Ancelotti told the club’s official website.

“The players have shown a good attitude, and the team has worked hard. We are content because after an intense period of matches we saw a strong team and players who played well.

“The key to the match was to show the same face we did in the Champions League. We made a good start to the game with lots of intensity, and after the first goal it was easy.”

PSG travel to Valenciennes on Tuesday, with only three points separating the two sides, and will be heavily reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has five goals from his last five matches.

If PSG claim victory against Valenciennes and Lyon fail to get a result at home to bottom side Nancy, the Paris-based outfit could close the gap to just two points, easing the pressure on Ancelotti.

But you would expect red-hot Lyon to earn maximum points against the cellar-dwellers, having lost just once in their past nine Ligue 1 fixtures.

Saint-Etienne, who were narrowly beaten at home to Lyon, face Bordeaux with both clubs locked on 26 points, while seventh-placed Rennes take on Nice.

Defending champions Montpellier will be keen to build on their win against Ajaccio when they tackle battle Brest, Lorient could make it three wins in succession at home to lowly Sochaux and Reims will look to end their eight-game winless run against Ajaccio.

Meanwhile, misfiring Lille host Toulouse and Evian take on Troyes in a battle of the relegation candidates.