Deschamps sets sights on second victory

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps hopes his team can begin a revival in Ligue 1 on the back of Wednesday night's win over Evian.

Two goals from Loic Remy earned OM their first win of the season, having taken just three points from their opening six games.

And, though they still languish in 15th place in the table, their coach believes the confidence boost from finally breaking their duck will stand them in good stead for the challenges ahead, starting at Valenciennes on Saturday.

"Victory is always the best medicine," he told L'Equipe. "It will give the team a bit of confidence and calmness.

"We doubled our points total in one match, but there is still a long road and a lot of work ahead of us. We must continue to work together and focus not on our league position, but on picking up points."

Winger Andre Ayew hopes to feature on Saturday despite an ongoing thigh problem which saw him replaced by his brother Jordan during last night's game, while striker Andre-Pierre Gignac could return to training next week.

Almost as surprising as Marseille's poor start to the season is Montpellier's presence at the summit, which they reclaimed from Lyon with last night's 3-1 win over Ajaccio.

The leaders, who have 16 points, face Paris St Germain, who are just two points behind in fourth place, on Saturday evening, by which time they could have been usurped at the top by either Lyon or Toulouse.

Les Gones host Bordeaux earlier in the evening, with Kim Kallstrom available to return after missing last night's defeat to Caen with an ankle injury.

Asked about the chances of the Sweden midfielder returning, coach Remi Garde told L'Equipe: "Without doubt. Kim is doing much better."

Toulouse, meanwhile, welcome Nancy, who replaced Marseille at the foot of the table after being pegged back to draw with Valenciennes last night.

In Saturday's remaining matches reigning champions Lille host Lorient, Caen travel to Evian and Nice take on Dijon.

Nice will be without Fabian Monzon, who has scored three penalties in their last two games but will be suspended after his dismissal against PSG last night.

Coach Eric Roy was angered by that decision, and said: "Someone needs to explain to me why Monzon was sent off.

"For the first yellow, I am not sure it was even a foul, and for the second it was very slight contact."

The remaining team on 14 points, Rennes, face St Etienne on Sunday evening in the final game of the weekend after hammering Sochaux 6-2 last night.

But ASSE coach Christophe Galtier, who saw his men grab a late equaliser against Toulouse on Wednesday night, said: "The team's body language allowed me to be optimistic for the games to come. There are reasons to hope."

Elsewhere on Sunday, Auxerre and Sochaux meet at the Stade l'Abbe-Deschamps while Ajaccio make the trip to Brest.