Auxerre interim boss Jean-Guy Wallemme is confident two wins from their final two games will be enough to keep his side in Ligue 1.
Defeat by Bordeaux on Monday saw Auxerre drop back to the bottom of the table and, with games against Marseille and title favourites Montpellier to come, their top-flight status looks extremely shaky.
Ahead of Sunday's match at the Stade Velodrome, Wallemme told aja.fr: "It's really still very tight, with seven or eight teams involved in the battle to stay up.
"We are one of them. But we still have two games to get out. If we could take six points, I'm sure we could get out, especially since our goal difference is rather favourable."
Marseille, who sit in 10th, have little to play for on paper but, after a very disappointing league season, they are desperate to finish on a high.
They ended a run of 14 games without a win by taking four points from matches against Nancy and St Etienne, and midfielder Morgan Amalfitano told om.net: "It was good to reconnect with positive results.
"We will try to continue this series until the end of the season. This is important on many levels: first, to our fans, but also for the whole group. For these two games, if could take six points we could finish the season with our heads high."
Amalfitano is well aware Auxerre will be doing their utmost to win, and he added: "They will be fighting for their lives. We must be hungrier than them."