The China Mail - Traditional giants meet as Luis Enrique denies PSG rift

Les Verts, whose 10 French titles is second only to Paris Saint-Germain, were also drawn to face Marseille in the last 64 of the French Cup just before Christmas.

Back in the top flight after two seasons in the second division, Saint-Etienne have relied heavily on their home form to stay afloat this term.

Saint-Etienne have won four of their last five at their Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, where they have collected all but one of their 13 points so far.

Last weekend they crashed to a 5-0 loss at Rennes after being reduced to 10 men before half-time.

"There will be other obstacles, and big ones. We have a very tough season ahead, we know that," said coach Olivier Dall'Oglio in the wake of that defeat.

"When there are challenges of that type, we're going to need to overcome them and not collapse like I saw the team collapse."

Marseille, conversely, have thrived on their travels and have the league's best away record with six wins from seven matches.

Roberto De Zerbi's side climbed above Monaco into second place with a 2-1 win last Sunday and sit six points back of leaders PSG.

Luis Enrique's side face another critical juncture in their season, travelling to Auxerre on Friday before a trip to Salzburg next week in the Champions League.

PSG are unbeaten in their last 30 away games in Ligue 1 but were held at home by a struggling Nantes team last weekend.

With just one win in five in Europe, PSG find themselves outside the 24 qualifying spots for the knockout stages.

"We've made mistakes in terms of our performances in the Champions League but it's a good season," the Spaniard said Thursday.

"Our problems are good ones because we can push past them. These results don't reflect what I've seen on the pitch."

Luis Enrique also moved to quash talk of dressing room discord, dismissing claims of tensions between himself and some players.

"I'm not going to respond to rumours and lies," he said. "The team is wonderful and I have nothing to add."

Lille and Brest, both of whom are well positioned to advance in the Champions League, meet on Friday before Monaco -- who also have 10 points from five games in Europe -- host Toulouse on Saturday.

Player to watch: Randal Kolo Muani

The France international's stock has dropped alarmingly at PSG, to the extent that he has played a total of 33 minutes over the past six league games -- four of which he has not even featured in.

The 26-year-old was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for 90 million euros ($95 million) at the start of last season but has not started for the club since the 1-1 draw with Nice on October 6, sowing doubt over his future as the transfer window approaches.

"It's a difficult period for everyone because we'll have to see what we need in terms of buying players and evaluate those who want to leave," Luis Enrique said on Thursday.

"But I hope right up until the end these players will convince me they deserve to play."

Key stats

4 - successive home wins for Auxerre, the longest active streak in Ligue 1. The promoted side have won fix of six this season at the Stade Abbe-Deschamps

10 - matches without a win for Nantes

13 - games unbeaten for Lille in all competitions

Fixtures (all times GMT)

Friday

Lille v Brest (1800), Auxerre v Paris Saint-Germain (2000)

Saturday

Monaco v Toulouse (1600), Nice v Le Havre (1800), Angers v Lyon (2000)

Sunday

Lens v Montpellier (1400), Nantes v Rennes, Strasbourg v Reims (both 1600), Saint-Etienne v Marseille (1945)

O.Yip--ThChM