Monaco captain Stephane Ruffier hopes his team's recent improvement will continue when they face fellow Ligue 1 strugglers Arles on Saturday. Monaco lie 18th in France's Ligue 1 with just two wins from 12 games and accompany their upcoming opponents in the relegation zone.

A midweek break from league action saw Monaco eliminated from the French League Cup by Marseille, but goalkeeper Ruffier was encouraged by their performance going into their Stade Louis II clash.

"We are disappointed but it's not the end of the world, because we feel it is starting to come together and that we are starting to string together good performances," he told L'Equipe. "We are making progress, and that's important."

After the defeat in Paris in the league, we must do everything to win this important game against Lens on Saturday
Andre Ayew, Marseille winger

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Marseille, meanwhile, have their eyes fixed on the opposite end of the table. They take on lowly Lens with the opportunity to leapfrog Rennes and Paris Saint-Germain, who travel to Auxerre and Lorient respectively on Sunday. They could also overtake leaders Brest should Alex Dupont's side lose at home to Sochaux.

Winger Andre Ayew insists his side will put their progress to the cup semi-finals out of their mind and focus on bouncing back from their defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

"We must continue to work and close the window on the Coupe de la Ligue," Ayew told the club's website. "After the defeat in Paris in the league, we must do everything to win this important game against Lens on Saturday. "

The visitors go into the game with seven injuries, but Marseille suffered a setback of their own as a thigh injury ruled Benoit Cheyrou out for two matches.

PSG also reached the last four, courtesy of their 3-1 win over Valenciennes, and on a run of only one defeat in 14 games over the last two months. Peguy Luyindula, who scored their third goal last night, said: "Lorient are a good side but we will go there to get a good result and stay as high as possible in the table.

"We have not been losing and we are proud. You can see that in our body language. It's never easy to win but we do all we can to make our opponents' task difficult."

Sixth-placed Saint-Etienne travel to Valenciennes, seventh and eighth meet as Toulouse travel to Montpellier and Bordeaux host Nancy in the remaining Saturday afternoon games. Lille, in fifth, travel to Caen in the evening while Lyon and Nice meet on Sunday.