Marseille will begin the defence of their Ligue 1 crown in 2010/11 against Ligue 2 champions Caen.
New boys set to head out on the road in season openers
Marseille will begin the defence of their Ligue 1 crown in 2010/11 against Ligue 2 champions Caen.
The new season in France is set to get under way on 7th August and Didier Deschamps' side will open with a home fixture.
Marseille came out on top last season for the first time in 17 years, with Stade Velodrome having been starved of success of late.
The heady days of the late 80s and early 90s, when the club won five consecutive domestic titles, may be a long time ago but it appears the good times are on their way back.
They were stripped of their last crown, in 1993, following a match-fixing scandal, but could no-one could deny them their moment in the sun in 2009/10.
Marseille will obviously be looking to see off the competition once again in 2011 and will be desperate to get off to a good start.
Style
Their opponents on the opening day, Caen, took the second tier title in style last season, ensuring they bounced back into the top flight at the first time of asking.
They will be keen to shake off their 'yo-yo club' tag but know they face a tough ask in their first fixture back in the big time.
Elsewhere, Lyon, who finished second last season, begin their campaign at home to Monaco while Auxerre, who were third in 2009/10, meet Lorient at Stade l'Abbe-Deschamps.
Bordeaux, who have seen coach Laurent Blanc agree to take the reins of the France national side after this summer's World Cup, get up and running against Montpellier.
Like Caen, the other two newly-promoted sides will also be out on the road on the opening day.
Brest and Arles-Avignon travel to Toulouse and Sochaux respectively as they look to open on a high.
