Ligue 1 Preview: Monaco, Marseille out to continue good starts

Ligue 1 table-toppers Monaco will look to extend their unbeaten record to five matches when they host Lorient on Sunday.

Monaco, who won promotion last term, invested in their squad heavily in the close-season, with manager Claudio Ranieri bringing in the likes of Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho and Geoffrey Kondogbia.

And the early signs look promising for Monaco, who have won three of their four matches this season.

Their title credentials received a true test before the international break, but it was one they passed with flying colours, as they came from behind to defeat Marseille 2-1.

Falcao and Emmanuel Riviere scored after the break for Monaco, as they won at Stade Velodrome, something just three Ligue 1 sides managed to do last term.

Riviere is the leading scorer in the league with five goals in his four matches, and alongside Falcao, Monaco look to have the firepower to make them a serious title threat.

Lorient’s form has been mixed, winning two and losing two of their four matches this season.

Both of their defeats have come on the road and Monaco will take confidence from that ahead of Sunday’s meeting.

Marseille, who sit second after their defeat, travel to struggling Toulouse on Saturday eager to bounce back.

Elie Baup’s side begun the season with three successive wins and they strengthened their squad on transfer deadline day with the arrivals of Florian Thauvin and Mario Lemina.

Thauvin has high expectations after arriving for a reported transfer fee of €15million and he is likely to slot straight into Marseille’s first team.

Toulouse are one of just three sides in Ligue 1 yet to register a win, and their record of two draws and two losses sees them the bottom of the table.

Paris Saint-Germain remain unbeaten from their four matches, but draws with Montpellier and Ajaccio have put them fourth.

Laurent Blanc’s side are on the road at Bordeaux on Friday and will be expected to make it three league wins in a row in the fixture.

Other matches on Saturday will see in-form Saint-Etienne visit Valenciennes, while Ajaccio look for their first win of the season against Evian and struggling Guingamp take on Bastia.

Nantes also play Sochaux on Saturday, while Montpellier are in action against Reims, and on Sunday Lyon host Rennes and Nice visit Lille.