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OM-CAEN : OBJECTIVE 7 FROM 9

01/25/2008 - OM-Caen

The Olympiens wrap up this long week with a third match. After the victory over Valenciennes and the draw with Nancy, they hope to end on a high with another win. If they can pull it off, they will have taken 7 points from the 9 on offer this week.

Round 23 of Ligue 1
Saturday at 20:00 (Foot+)
Referee: Damien Ledentu
Live text & audio on OM.net

Since last Saturday, Olympique de Marseille has played 2 matches and will play again this Saturday. Home winners against Valenciennes (3-1), the Olympiens went on to claim a courageous draw in Nancy (1-1). For round 23 of Ligue 1, OM is once again pitted against a higher-ranked side; newly-promoted Caen is ranked an astonishing 6th on the table. “They’re the real surprise packet this season, a bit like Valenciennes. They play some beautiful attacking football and it’s against teams like this that we often do well,” says a hopeful Eric Gerets. “I’m expecting an open match with lots of ups and downs which in principle should provide a good game for the fans. And I have a feeling the stadium will be packed.”

Just like their captain, the OM players want to climb back up the table to be in the best position for the home stretch of the season. To this end, January and February take on a fundamental importance both mathematically and mentally. “Our objective is to win all our home games. We have 16 matches left, 9 of which are at home, which is great for us. At the moment we’re winning at home. But we’re not managing to win on the road even though we’re not losing most of the time. If we want to shift up a gear, we need to start winning away from home. We want to win everything at home and Caen is the first one on the list.

MANDANDA, 5 MONTHS LATER
Five months ago to the day, Steve Mandanda took up his place in the OM goals after Cédric Carrasso injured himself in training. His first match was away to Caen in round 5. Mandanda’s first game for OM coincided with the club’s first win for the 2007-08 league campaign. Since then, Mandanda has firmly cemented his place in the starting line-up. Decisive, safe and reassuring for the defence, the former Le Havre keeper took just a few weeks to become one of the stars of the French goalkeeping scene alongside Hugo Loris and Yohann Pelé. Called up to the France U-21 team, the OM keeper is looking at a possible call-up to the senior team just months out from Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria this summer.

THE NORMAN SURPRISE
Promoted to L1 this season, the Stade Malherbe de Caen is having a campaign that is shaking the foundations of the elite of French football. Indeed, the Normans, 6th on the table, began the season lurking in the lower half of the table without ever looking in danger of relegation. But since November 24 2007, they have found a vein of form that has seen them beat Bordeaux 5-0, Lyon 1-0 and Paris 1-0. Five wins and 3 draws later, Caen is in 6th place with 30 points.
Their stash has come mainly at home (21 of their 30 points) but Franck Dumas’ men are equally capable of coming up with the goods on the road, like when they took victories from the Parc des Princes, and have also won in Lens and Monaco and took a point from their trip to Toulouse.

THE OM SQUAD
Keepers: Mandanda, Carrasso
Defenders: Bonnart, Krupoviesa, Givet, Rodriguez, L. N’Diaye, Sabo
Midfielders: Cana, Cheyrou, Kaboré, Valbuena, Ziani, Zenden, Nasri
Attackers: Akalé, Cissé
THE CAEN SQUAD
To be announced

OM-CAEN ON OMTV
Live pre-match at 19:00
Live post-match at 21:50
Match in full at midnight

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Live text, audio and photos from 19:45
Analysis, reactions, photos and quotes after the match
Videos: Reactions then exclusive extended highlights at midnight

Ticketing