League leaders Lyon will be without France striker Karim Benzema when they travel to Valenciennes on Sunday.

The 20-year-old will be out of action for two or three weeks because of an ankle injury he picked during Lyon's 4-2 win over Paris St Germain last weekeend.

Lyon midfielder Mathieu Bodmer expects a tough challenge from Valenciennes, who have lost only one game at home since the beginning of the season and last weekend beat second-placed Bordeaux 3-1.

"We know Valenciennes are a very tough team on their turf. We saw against Bordeaux that they were able to perform very well against the best teams of the league," Bodmer told the club's official website.

Midfielder Youssouf Hadji believes third-placed Nancy, who travel to Bordeaux on Saturday, have what it takes to claim a Champions League spot.

"We've been dreaming of it for a little while. There is something extraordinary to achieve," the Morocco player said.

"We fight for every ball and after we made sure that we would stay in Ligue 1, we could have relaxed but we did not."

Nancy trail Bordeaux by three points, with Lyon nine points above the Aquitaine side.

Marseille defender Gael Givet said his team's trip to Lorient on Sunday would be a make-or-break game.

"When they play at home, they show some very good, fluid football but we want to bounce back so victory would be a very good result if we want to take third place," he told Marseille's official website.

Marseille are fourth in the standings, six adrift of Nancy with eight matches remaining.

Lens and Paris St Germain, who face each other in Saturday's Coupe de la Ligue final, have their games against St Etienne and Strasbourg postponed to April 2 and 9 respectively.

Reuters