Boosted by a recent upturn in performances, Lyon face bitter rivals Saint-Etienne on Sunday in the most passionate derby in France with both teams looking to keep in touch with the European places.

Lyon's disastrous first half to the season led to coach Hubert Fournier being sacked with former assistant Bruno Genesio appointed as his replacement, and Genesio oversaw a 4-1 win against bottom club Troyes last weekend as OL opened their impressive new stadium.

That result allowed Lyon to climb back into the top six, and they make the short trip to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard above Les Verts on goal difference, with just four points separating them from Monaco in the third and final Champions League qualifying berth.

Lyon lost in midweek, going down 2-1 away to Paris Saint-Germain in the League Cup quarter-finals, but Genesio was happy with the display from a much-changed side.

"I always said that I had confidence in my team," he insisted. "We need to be lucid about what we are capable of doing, but we need to be capable of repeating that performance."

Lyon's best performance this season came when they trounced Saint-Etienne 3-0 at home in November with Alexandre Lacazette scoring a hat-trick.

Christophe Galtier's side have finished in the top five in each of the last three campaigns but their prospects of doing so again this year have been undermined by nine defeats already this season, including a 2-1 loss at Nantes last weekend.

"This league is dangerous and there might be a lot of surprises. I hope we will quickly get to 42 points and finish the season well," said Galtier in the wake of the Nantes setback as he admitted the first aim had to be guaranteeing survival in a tight division.

Galtier has moved to strengthen his squad this month with the arrival of Norway striker Alexander Soderlund from Rosenborg being followed by that this week of Moroccan-born winger Oussama Tannane from Dutch side Heracles.

Tannane serves a suspension this weekend and skipper Loic Perrin is still injured for the home side, while Lyon captain Maxime Gonalons is out but Mathieu Valbuena could return.

Runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain are a huge 20 points clear of second-placed Angers before going to Toulouse on Saturday.

It will be the first of three meetings between the clubs in 11 days as they will clash at the Parc des Princes in the French Cup next Tuesday and then again in the League Cup semi-finals at the end of the month.

Laurent Blanc's side have not lost any of their last 36 domestic outings, a run stretching back 10 months. Toulouse, meanwhile, are in the relegation zone but they have lost just one of their last nine games.

"To play three matches against PSG is nice. We need to be prepared. Every players wants to test himself against the best and this gives us the chance," said Toulouse skipper Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro.

Angers go to Nice on Friday, while Caen host inconsistent Marseille and third-placed Monaco visit Lorient on Sunday on a run of just one defeat in their last 14 league matches.

The principality club this week moved to strengthen their mis-firing attack by signing 20-times capped Brazil forward Vagner Love from Corinthians, although he is not expected to make his debut just yet.

"I am here to help the team as best I can and lend them my experience. Monaco are a big European club. My wife loved the idea of coming. I treat her like a princess. Our little princess will be born here," said Love, clearly delighted at returning to Europe.

Fixtures (kick-offs 1900 GMT unless stated)