Marseilles (AFP)

Olympique de Marseille has not won for five matches and seeks to revive the machine and confidence against Bordeaux on Saturday (9 p.m.) for the 7th day of Ligue 1, before returning to the Champions League on Wednesday against Olympiakos.

"We need this victory, like last year against Lille, to explode," says André Villas-Boas, who will celebrate his 43 years and his 400th match among professionals.

The Olympian coach refers to the click match last season, a victory against Losc (2-1) who started the race in second place.

OM are somewhat in this kind of situation and, above all, have not yet managed to win at the Vélodrome after their first three matches.

This is the first time since 2011.

But Villas-Boas is "not at all worried".

He calls for work, and waits for takeoff.

"We want that to happen, obviously, and we hope immediately, from this weekend. If this is the case, we can leave the word + worried + for a few weeks," he bet.

Because behind OM follows in Piraeus against Olympiakos on Wednesday for their comeback in the Champions League after seven years of absence.

And Greece will start the marathon of one match every three days until the international break in mid-November.

- Another system?

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But it seems that the opponents are starting to get to know AVB's 4-3-3 well.

Vincent Hognon, Metz coach (1-1 at the Vélodrome), explained that he was inspired by the work of Claude Puel and Saint-Étienne, who won in Marseille (2-0).

OM "worked on another system this week," admits AVB, who has tested the three-way defense.

"We need that for the Champions League too."

Remains that "we are not good at the moment, but this is only the beginning of the season", pleads "AVB", before recalling that his team also won "the first victory at the Park for thirteen years (1-0 at Paris SG), the best and the worst ... "

"At the moment, we don't have the level of play to win at the Vélodrome, but I don't need you to ask me questions to know that the team is playing badly. It's my responsibility, it's my fault, the only thing I can do is work ", continues the Portuguese.

"If after seven days we start to feel the concern of all, with the same questions, it is useless," he plague.

He noted that his team "has lost things compared to last year, while they should gain some with the arrival of Thauvin", they "take too many shots" and "lose too many balls", lists Villas-Boas.

- "We don't panic" -

Florian Thauvin, after a year of absence between injury and Covid-19, has missed his last two matches but is already the top scorer (2 goals) and assistants (3 assists) of his team.

OM will need their inventiveness against the Bordeaux hedgehog, L1's best defense with Lille (2 goals conceded).

All the more so as Jean-Louis Gasset's Marine and Blancs follow an opposite curve, after a sluggish start.

The Girondins have finally started by beating Dijon (3-0) at Matmut Atlantique, after starting the season with three 0-0 at home.

The coach is no longer Portuguese, like last year (Paulo Sousa), and the system has changed, but AVB fears the great invariants of the game of Bordeaux, "the direct balloons of Koscielny, the depth of De Préville ... "

He may also fear the entrechats of Hatem Ben Arfa, back at the Velodrome, which could come into play.

But don't worry, we assure OM.

"No, we are not panicking," swears Jordan Amavi.

The left side admits that the team is going through "a bad patch" but adds that it "has the players and the qualities to play the game", even without his friend Dimitri Payet suspended for two matches.

"We can not count on him, we have the players for, even without Dimitri", insists the Toulonnais.

It is above all necessary "to gain a little confidence with a victory", concludes AVB.

Then the hour for the Champions League will strike.

© 2020 AFP