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A look ahead to the weekend's action in the French Ligue 1.

Last Updated: 09/02/12 at 17:49 Post Comment    Bet with SkyBet  French Ligue 1. Click here to bet.

Rudi Garcia: Looking to recover from cup upset

Rudi Garcia: Looking to recover from cup upset

Lille coach Rudi Garcia is happy to focus solely on the remainder of the Ligue 1 campaign following his side's elimination from the Coupe de France.

A surprise 2-1 loss against Valenciennes on Wednesday night saw Lille crash out at the last-16 stage to put a further dent in their hopes of claiming silverware this season.

Victory in the cup last term helped Lille to a superb double-winning campaign, and Garcia wants to maintain his side's hopes of retaining their Ligue 1 crown with victory at home to Bordeaux on Sunday.

Lille sit third in the league, 10 points behind leaders Paris St Germain but with a game in hand, and Garcia hopes the cup exit can kick-start their title push.

"Now things are simple," he said. "We have to give everything we have in the league, starting on Sunday with the visit of Bordeaux, which is a very important match.

"We have to defend third place in the league and we'll give all we've got not to let the teams in front get away from us."

Leaders PSG, who are also in action on Sunday at Nice, have found a novel way to ensure their pre-match preparations are not interrupted by the sub-zero temperatures gripping northern Europe by taking training inside a blow-up dome.

Star striker Kevin Gameiro has enjoyed the break from the regular routine and is confident of adding to his 10 goals for the season when his side visits the Mediterranean club this weekend.

"It's great training in this dome, it's a perfect way to work in these conditions," he said. "It allows us to train every day despite the freezing conditions."

Looking ahead to the Nice game, he added: "We know it will be a tough game. It's always tough playing Nice at the Stade du Ray. But we're heading there looking for all three points and we'll give nothing up in our quest to stay top of the table."

Nice will expect to head into Sunday's game level on points with Montpellier, who can pull level with victory at home to Ajaccio 24 hour earlier.

Rene Girard's second-placed troops are yet to concede a goal in 2012 and won their last three in the league prior to reaching the last eight of the Coupe de France at the expense of Ligue 2 Chateauroux on Wednesday night.

Confidence is high in the camp, but Montpellier must be on their guard against an Ajaccio side who have won four and drawn one of their last five games to haul themselves out of the relegation zone.

Elsewhere on Saturday, fourth-placed Lyon, who also won through to the cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night, are at home to Caen, while Rennes, in sixth, welcome Sochaux.

Lorient are the visitors to Auxerre, Valenciennes take on Nancy, and Brest are at home to Dijon, while on Sunday Toulouse will play host to St Etienne.

Saturday's match between Evian and Marseille has been postponed due to the cold snap. A decision on whether to instead play the match on Sunday will be taken on Friday morning.

Bet with SkyBet  French Ligue 1. Click here to bet.

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here has only been 3 players who made me hold my breath in dread when they picked the ball up anywhere near our penalty area...in their prime Scholes and Giggs... and always Drogba. Awesome player who on his day was the best striker in the world in my opinion.

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Farewell Big, Brutal, Big-Balled B**tard

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remember him scoring a 25-yarder, either the season just gone or the one before, against Bolton at the Reebok. I've never seen a ball hit that hard before in my entire life. You could almost feel the shockwave from his foot contacting it 40 yards away in the stands. Didier Droga. You might not have loved him, but you just had to be in awe of him.

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den Hazard, def. - 1) that girl in a club who makes eyes at you all night, who allows you to buy her a drink and walk her home arm in arm, who then gives you a suggestive kiss on her doorstep before declaring how tired she is and how she has to be up early the next day. 2) A cock tease.

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