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Several Premiership clubs have been alerted to the availability of French starlet Mourad Meghni.  Sochaux have decided against signing Meghni permanently and he is now returning to parent club Bologna. The France U21 international joined Sochaux last summer after Bologna's relegation from Serie A.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is a big admirer of Meghni, while Real Madrid were also interested in the midfield whiz before he accepted a return home last summer.

Germany's Hannover have approached Bologna about Meghni's availability, however they're sure to face competition from the Premiership, where scouts from Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham have been regular spectators at Sochaux games this past season.

Sochaux have reacted to being booed by a section of their own fans at the weekend by releasing a statement criticising the supporters´ actions and suggesting they could affect potential future signings.

Dominique Bijotat´s men were jeered off the pitch during Saturday´s goalless draw with Le Mans at the Bonal arena, a result that leaves Sochaux rooted in the bottom five of Ligue 1. Sochaux duo Jeremy Menez and Philippe Brunel both came under heavy criticism during the match and, two days later, the behaviour of the fans still rankles with the players, leading the club to take the unusual step of issuing a press statement about the situation.

"In their own stadium two Sochaux players were booed and insulted during the match.

Sochaux grabbed two late goals to come from behind and beat Toulouse.

The hosts led the game more than 70 minutes after Laurent Batlles' seventh-minute opener, but goals from Weldon Santos and Mevlut Erding in the closing stages turned the game on its head.

Sochaux actually thought they had taken the lead in the fifth minute when Araujo Ilan found the net, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Two minutes later then were behind. Alexandre Bonnet's cross found Batlles who beat Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert with a goal into the left-hand corner of the goal.

Richert then pulled off a superb save to prevent Daniel Moreira from doubling the lead.

Moreira tried his luck again but struck the crossbar in the 21st minute.

Moments later, Sochaux's Julien Quercia was desperately unlucky to see his 40-yard effort also come back off the bar.

Toulouse continued to seek a second goal in the second half, and Guiranne N'daw did well to block Francileudo Santos' shot in the 48th minute.

In the 65th minuet, Albin Ebondo tried his luck with a long-range effort but it sailed over the crossbar.

Toulouse were then made to pay for their misses as Sochaux grabbed two quick goals.

The first came in the 79th minute when N'Daw's pass found Weldon inside the area and he was able to slot the ball past Toulouse goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez.

The winner then came in the 89th minute as Erding latched onto the a long ball forward from the defence to beat Douchez.

Lille will look to book their ticket for the Champions League in the final weekend of action in Ligue 1.

The third-placed club need a victory against Rennes to ensure that Marseille cannot leapfrog them on the final day.

The title race is long since over with Lyon collecting their fifth consecutive title. But below them, the battle for a place in Europe's most prestigous comepetition is reaching its climax.

Lille are clear favourites, holding a two point advantage after stunning Lyon 4-0 last weekend.

Rennes could put up stiffer resistance as they themselves are aiming for a place in the UEFA Cup.

Lille midfielder Mathieu Chalme is well aware of the importance of Saturday's game.

"We would have liked to have secured our place in the Champions League before the final match, but I do believe that we have what it takes," Chalme told www.losc.fr.

"We deserve to win and play in Europe considering our performance in Ligue 1 this year.

"It would be good to qualify for the Champions League for the second consecutive year. We will see if we are a great team on Saturday.

"Clinching a place in the UEFA Cup only would be felt as a huge disappointment. We want to be back to the Champions League and we will do all we can to reach that aim."

If they are to pip Lille to the post, Marseille must win at second-placed Bordeaux and hope for good news from Rennes.

The importance of their own result is paramount. They hope for a Rennes victory that would put them in the Champions League, but if Marseille themselves lose, such a result would leave them out of Europe all together.

"This is an extremely important match for us on Saturday," said Marseille striker Toifilou Maoulida.

"We must win at any price. We cannot think about a loss or even a draw if we are to be in Europe next year.

"Ideally it would be fantastic if Rennes beat Lille and we defeat Bordeaux. Everything is still possible.

"Bordeaux will try to please their crowd for their last home match but we can unsettle them and spoil the party."

Paris St Germain, who face already-relegated Metz, are assured of their place in the UEFA Cup after beating arch-rivals Marseille to win the French Cup Final.

Ajaccio and Strasbourg, who will join Metz in Ligue 2 next season, play St Etienne and Auxerre respectively.

Monaco, whose coach Francesco Guidolin is set to be showed the door this summer after failing to fulfil the club's ambitions, welcome League Cup winners Nancy at the Stade Louis II while Sochaux, Nice and Nantes travel to Toulouse, Troyes and Lens respectively.

The squad, announced Monday in Salé's Maâmora Sports Centre, features the absence of skipper Noureddine Naybet, who was hardly regular with his English Premiership club Tottenham this season.

The list also excludes other players who took part in the Atlas Lions' dismal performance in the last Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Norwich City playmaker Youssef Safri has pulled out of the summer international friendlies to ensure he is fully fit for the new season with his English club.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who suffered a string of injuries during his club's Championship campaign, has recently had his gall bladder removed, thus putting an end to his season with a few matches in hand.

Also to miss the Atlas Lions' warm-ups are exhausted Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh and midfielder Youssef Mokhtari, who has been released by FC Cologne after less than eight months with the Bundesliga club.

Mokhtari, who joined Cologne from second division Energie Cottbus in August, has made just 13 appearances this season. But since the arrival of Swiss coach Hanspeter Latour in January, the Moroccan international has only featured in the reserve team.

Striker Jaouad Zairi, who was a key player in Morocco's 2004 African runner-up team, is also among the absentees in Fakher's outfit, as he has bungled his season with Saudi club Al-Ittihad Jeddah, failing to secure a regular place in the A team.

The former FC Sochaux player was initially excluded from Fakher's line-up for the 2006 Cup of Nations, but was later called up to join the tune-up camp ahead of the tournament's kick-off, after Nancy's Moncef Zerka defaulted.

Fakher has called up Belgium-based forward Mbark Boussoufa, who is eyed by Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and Belgian giants Anderlecht, to make his debut with the Atlas Lions in the tune-ups.

The 22-year-old player, who has won the 15th Ebony Shoe for his brilliant performance with Belgian first division club La Gantoise, was uncertain for Morocco's first friendly against the US, but he has confirmed his fitness after fully recovering from a knee injury sustained last month in a Belgian premier league match.

AZ Alkmaar's Tarik Sektioui and Metz' Jaouad Alioui, both members in Morocco's World Cup qualification campaign, will make their comeback, after they missed the Cup of Nations in Egypt.

The team will enter a training camp on May 16-20 at Maâmora, before flying to Nashville, Tennessee, where they will take on the World Cup US qualifying team on May 23.

The Atlas Lions will play Mali in Paris four days later, before facing Colombia in Barcelona on June 4. The last friendly will be held in Rabat against Burkina Faso on August 16.

Over the last two months, Fakher and his assistant Samir Ajjam made a tour in Europe and the Gulf to assess the level of different abroad-based Moroccan players and consider their joining of the team in the forthcoming friendly and official matches.


“We had a series of meetings with the players, and we have realised that those who will join us can perfectly constitute a solid group, together with the players who have already gained some experience,” said the team manager, who took over from Badou Zaki only two weeks ahead of the 2006 Cup of Nations.

“We'll have to take advantage of the period separating the end of the different leagues and the start of the World Cup to build this team with enthusiastic and ambitious players,” he added at a press conference on Monday.

Morocco were handed relatively tractable rivals in the run-up to the continent's top football tournament, as they were drawn with Malawi and Zimbabwe in Group 12, the sole three-team pool of the qualifications, a situation that means only the top team will get through.

In the other groups, however, automatic qualification is guaranteed to the winners, while the best three runners-up will join them into the finals.

Sochaux and Troyes both saved themselves from relegation last weekend and thus could play out a draw in a relatively relaxed atmosphere on Saturday evening at the Stade Auguste Bonal.

Sebastien Grax struck in stoppage time to earn a draw for Troyes after Rabiu Afolabi looked to have done enough for the hosts to take the points.

But following last weekend's relegations for Metz, Ajaccio and Strasbourg, Troyes coach Jean-Marc Furlan will not have been biting his fingernails too much as his team chased the game.

Sochaux, whose coach Dominique Bijotat may quit the club in the summer, started brightly and Weldon and Mickael Isabey created a chance for Araujo Ilan whose shot went over.

Weldon then linked up with Ilan again with Ilan's header once more missing - this time to the right.

Sochaux made the breakthrough after 18 minutes when Fabien Boudarene's free-kick was headed by Afolabi into the net.

Ilan could have doubled his side's lead had Ronan Le Crom not dashed from his goalline to clear the danger.

In the second half Troyes proved more worthy opponents against a Sochaux team that seemed to have thought they had done enough to win the match.

First home goalkeeper Teddy Richert did well to keep out a header from Troyes striker Ziad Jaziri who will represent Tunisia in this year's World Cup.

In stoppage-time Troyes drew level and this time Richert was unable to do anything to keep out a free-kick from Grax that beat the wall and nestled in the net.

Sochaux coach Dominique Bijotat wants his side to finish the season with a flourish, starting with the home clash against Troyes on Saturday.

The two teams go into the match at the Stade Auguste Bonal knowing they have already secured their Ligue 1 status for another season, even though they have both endured stuttering campaigns - both only secured their top-flight status last weekend.

Bijotat, whose side lie fifth from bottom - two points above fourth-bottom Troyes, said: "What we've achieved is good but we have two matches left to play and we must win them to finish the season on a high."

Sochaux guaranteed top-flight football for another year by defeating Metz 1-0 last weekend.

They will be without a few key players this weekend, with Souleymane Diawara (suspended) and both defender Lionel Potillon and striker Moumouni Dagano out with knee injuries.

Brazilian Araujo Ilan, who is the club's top scorer with 10 goals, should be fit to play a part and will hope to add to his tally before the season ends.

Troyes are on a roll having won their last three games on the spin, against Metz, Ajaccio and Toulouse to save themselves from a relegation that had looked a distinct possibility all season.

The run has kept them in Ligue 1 so coach Jean-Marc Furlan is unlikely to make many changes to his starting line-up.

Striker Sebastien Grax, who scored the second goal in the 3-1 win over Toulouse last time out, should play up front after being rested this week.

Dominique Bijotat is unsure about his future as coach at Sochaux  after being hit by a volley of criticism from the club's fans.

Sochaux have secured their status in Ligue 1 for another season but the team's poor campaign prompted their supporters to insult Bijotat during Sunday's 1-0 win over Metz at the Grimonprez-Jooris stadium and demand his resignation.

Bijotat, who has the backing of his board, is contracted to the club until the summer of 2007 but he admitted he is struggling to cope with the pressure.

"I have not decided whether I will continue," he said in L'Equipe.

"I was called an "average coach" by some people and I am very sad about that deep inside.

"It has affected me. Football shouldn't be like that.

"Some might want me to resign, I can accept that, but personal insults are difficult to accept.

"I have to think about my situation."

Sochaux are 16th in the table with two matches remaining this season.

Sochaux  secured their Ligue 1 status for next season at the expense of Metz with a narrow win at the Saint-Symphorien Stadium.

Mickael Isabey's 56th-minute goal was all that separated the sides on the day but they will be a league apart next season as Metz were banished to Ligue 2 with the defeat.

There were chances for both sides in the game, but Metz's inability to score - they have only 24 goals in 35 games - came back to haunt them once more.

But it was not until the second half that things began to open up as the teams played out a tense opening 45 minutes.

Metz's Abdelnasser Ouadah saw his free-kick deflected wide for a corner in the 10th minute but it was not until the 36th minute until either side had another sight of goal.

A great ball from Fabien Boudarene found Sochaux team-mate Jeremy Menez but his shot across the face of goal went wide at the far post.

Then, moments before the half-time whistle, Henza Mihoubi went one-on-one with Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert but squandered the chance as he failed to find the target.

The visitors began the second half the stronger and soon had their reward.

Metz goalkeeper Christophe Marichez had just denied Moumouni Dagano when Isabey scored the all-important goal.

Substitute Santos Wheldon used his pace to break free and thread a pass through for Isabey who found the net with a neat finish.

At the other end, Ruslan Pimenov made a great run towards the box but has he was preparing to fire Souleymane Diawara made a crucial intervention for Sochaux.

With 11 minutes left, Metz knew it was not to be their day with Pimenov's right-footed shot came back off the post.

Swiss midfielder Johann Lonfat is out of the World Cup finals after failing to recover from an ankle injury.

The 32-year-old Sochaux wagering player has been told he must undergo an internal examination on the damaged joint -- putting him out of action for around three months, Swiss TV said.

Lonfat has played 24 matches for Switzerland and featured in five of his country's World Cup qualifiers, though never for a full 90 minutes.

The former Servette Geneva player also missed out on Euro 2004 after injuring his back in the run-up to the tournament.

Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn is not expected to name his World Cup squad until the May 15 deadline set by FIFA. The Swiss are drawn in group G with France, South Korea and Togo.

The French Cup final has been brought forward to 29 April to allow players to rest before the FIFA World Cup finals.

Date changed
The showpiece was originally scheduled for 20 May but the French Football Federation (FFF) has opted to switch dates because of France's involvement in this summer's tournament in Germany. "The decision was made to safeguard the rest period between 14 and 22 May requested by FIFA," the FFF said. The semi-finals will take place on 20 April, with the last-eight ties being held next week.

Lucrative deal
The FFF has also announced a new television rights deal with TF1 for the broadcast of national team matches from June 2006 until June 2010. The annual fee will rise from €27 to €45.3m over the course of that period. "It's a big relief for the FFF and an encouraging sign for French football," said federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes.

Postponed games
Finally, the French league authorities have rescheduled the postponed game between AS Monaco FC and Olympique Lyonnais as well as the match between FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and FC Girondins de Bordeaux for Thursday 23 April. Ligue 1 organisers were keen for all postponed ties to be played before the 36th round of fixtures, thus ensuring that all teams go into the last three matchdays with just three games remaining.

Olympique Lyonnais midfield player Benoît Pedretti believes the French champions showed AC Milan too much respect in last week's UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg and insists they must play with more conviction at the San Siro on Tuesday.
Milan domination
Last season's finalists dominated the opening exchanges at the Stade Gerland as Lyon struggled to find the form that has kept them unbeaten at home in the UEFA Champions League for three-and-a-half years. Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf seized control of the midfield, creating a string of chances, and only some excellent goalkeeping from Grégory Coupet denied the Serie A side.
We were poor'
Although the game finished goalless, Pedretti told uefa.com: "We were very poor early on. We played too deep and seemed happy to watch them play. If you do that against a side of their quality you don't get near the ball." Milan, six times European champions, were given a big build-up in the French press before the game, and the France international feels that may have affected Lyon's mindset. "An awful lot was written about Milan, but maybe they're not as good as everyone says.
'Skilful players'
"They weren't stronger than us in the first game and I don't expect them to be in the second. They've got very skilful players who are excellent when in possession, but they aren't so good when they don't have the ball. Once we settled we realised that and started to cause them problems."
Dida save
The French champions missed the presence of the suspended Juninho Pernambucano, even though his replacement Pedretti did his best to impersonate the influential Brazilian. The 25-year-old almost opened the scoring with a Juninho-esque free-kick but his inswinging effort was clawed away by Dida. "I played in Juninho's position but I'm not his direct replacement," Pedretti said. "I just played my own game and tried to perform well for the team."
'We looked dangerous'
Pedretti's attempt sparked something of a revival for Lyon, who slowly grew in confidence. "In the second half we were more like our normal selves," he continued. "We stopped giving them time on the ball and imposed our own rhythm. As soon as we began getting the ball forward early to Florent Malouda and Sylvain Wiltord, we looked dangerous. If we can put our attackers in good positions over there I'm convinced we can score."
Juninho boost
Lyon have not lost away from home in any competition since April last year and have scored at least one goal in every UEFA Champions League trip this campaign. They are also boosted by the return of Juninho, although another first-choice midfield player, Tiago, is now suspended, meaning that Pedretti is likely to play a pivotal role again.
High-profile move
Once regarded as a rising star of the French game, the graceful playmaker lost his way somewhat after a high-profile move from FC Sochaux-Montbéliard to Olympique de Marseille in 2004. He then struggled to make an impact during his first six months at Lyon and lost his place in the France squad, but in recent weeks has started to play regularly again.
Pedretti improvement
Pedretti's impressive passing game appears to be returning and so, perhaps most importantly, does his confidence. "My own performances aren't the most important thing at the moment," he insisted. "I'm pleased to be playing more and it's a pleasure to take part in massive games like the ones against Milan. But the most important thing is that Lyon qualify for the semi-finals. All I'm interested in for now is helping them to achieve that."

Sochaux centre back Souleymane Diawara is once again being linked with a move to England.

The talented defender was close to joining Portsmouth or Newcastle United in the winter but his involvement in the African Cup of Nations put paid to their interest.

The Senegal international has now alerted Tottenham with his form, according to reports in France, but he has also been linked with Everton and Rangers.

There would also be competition from France's Ligue 1 if Les Lionceaux can be persuaded to sell with Marseille and Paris Saint Germain known admirers of the 27-year-old.

Sources close to Diawara have confirmed that there is a strong possibility he could be bound for The  Premiership at the end of the season.

Sochaux are not yet safe from relegation after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of European hopefuls Lens.

Sochaux are six points clear of third-bottom Strasbourg and, crucially, have a game in hand of the bottom four.

However, this defeat delays any celebrations that might be in the pipeline.

Seydou Keita and former Sochaux player Pierre-Alain Frau gave Lens a 2-0 lead and although an Araujo Ilan goal gave the visitors hope there would be no comeback.

Lens midfielder Yohan Demont set the ball rolling after 20 minutes when he crossed towards Keita who headed home the opening goal for the northerners.

Sochaux almost got on terms when Romain Pitau fed the ball to Melvut Erding but Adama Coulibaly got in a crucial tackle.

Frau then created a chance for Alou Diarra whose header was just off target but after 34 minutes it was 2-0.

Daniel Cousin beat two defenders and crossed towards Frau whose header found the net.

Frau could have had a second goal against his former team-mates after the break but fired wide after latching onto a cross from team-mate Benoit Assou Ekotto.

Sochaux got themselves back in contention after 71 minutes when Moumani Dagano shrugged off the challenge of Coulibaly and crossed towards Ilan whose header billowed the Lens net.

It was Lens who came closest to scoring in the remainder of the match.

Frau spurned another chance when he fired over from 20 yards with the Sochaux defence looking exposed.

Cousin did put the ball in the net with two minutes remaining after being set up by Assou Ekotto but the goal was disallowed for offside.