Marseille will begin the defence of their Ligue 1 title against Ligue 2 champions Caen on August 7.

Next season's fixtures were published today by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, with Marseille's home clash against the newly-promoted outfit standing out.

Under the leadership of manager Didier Deschamps, Marseille won the French league for the first time since landing the 1993 title which they were later stripped of due to financial irregularities and a match-fixing scandal.

Caen bounced back into the top-flight at the first attempt following their relegation in 2009, and will be looking to improve on their reputation as a 'yo-yo' club.

Lyon, who finished second in the season just ended, begin their campaign with an attractive home clash against Monaco, while Auxerre - third in 2009/10 - will meet Lorient at the Stade l'Abbé-Deschamps.

Bordeaux, who have lost coach Laurent Blanc to the French national team, start against Montpellier.

The two other promoted sides, Brest and Arles-Avignon, have away matches in the opening round of fixtures. Brest travel to Toulouse while Arles-Avignon will take on Sochaux.