Ligue 1 Preview: Berbatov a doubt for Monaco against leaders

DimitarBerbatov

The Bulgarian was withdrawn shortly before the hour mark of Tuesday's 2-0 UEFA Champions League win over Zenit, and is now a doubt for Sunday's meeting at Stade Louis II.

Monaco confirmed on Wednesday that Berbatov will have further tests on the muscle injury to his right side, as the principality club aim for their fourth straight win in all competitions.

After a stuttering start to 2014-15, Leonardo Jardim's men recorded back-to-back 2-0 victories in the league - Berbatov scoring three times in their meetings with Lens and Toulouse.

Tuesday's win saw Monaco progress to the Champions League last 16 as winners of Group C - an achievement Jardim described as "important for French football".

The weekend sees them take on table-topping Marseille, who have taken 10 points from their last four matches since a 2-0 reverse at the hands of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Laurent Blanc's PSG remain the only unbeaten side across European football's top five leagues, but their seven draws from 17 Ligue 1 outings see them a point behind Marcelo Bielsa's Marseille.

This week they travel to struggling Guingamp, who have shown signs of improvement lately with back-to-back wins over Caen and Reims.

After emerging victorious in two of their first three league games, Caen have won just once in their past 14 - a run that has seen Patrice Garande's men drop to joint-bottom alongside Bastia.

There was further bad news for Bastia in midweek, after the Corsican outfit's president Pierre-Marie Geronimi was arrested in connection to an investigation into the club's finances.

​They host Rennes on Saturday, with Caen taking on third-place Lyon a day earlier in the opening Ligue 1 fixture of the weekend.

The other side currently in the bottom three are Lens, who visit Montpellier, while Lille, who are without a win in 12 matches in all competitions, host Toulouse.

Saint-Etienne go into their game at Nice on the back of three successive wins, and Christophe Galtier's men will have their sights set on climbing into the top three.

They currently lie fourth, a point behind Lyon and a point better off than Bordeaux, who visit Nantes.

Elsewhere, struggling Lorient take on Metz and Evian travel to Reims.

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