France's revival driven by form of Premiership men

Jacques Santini's resurgent France are primed to deliver another stirring performance against Malta in their Euro 2004 qualifier today.

The deposed world champions revelled in their 5-0 thrashing of Slovenia in Paris on Saturday and are keen to emphasise that they are back to their best form. It was a performance that signalled the start of the rehabilitation process following their first-round World Cup exit.

So impressive was Santini's 4-4-2 formation on Saturday that he is expected to retain the same line-up for the game at the Ta'Qali stadium in Valletta. Thierry Henry has shaken off a minor ankle problem and is regarded as a certain starter with Santini free of any other injury concerns.

Eight members of France's starting XI on Saturday play their club football in the Premiership, and the cross-Channel contingent seems likely to form the core of the side for some time.

Many French observers see the intensity of the English game as a key factor in Les Bleus' revival. An accomplished performance in the centre of the French defence marked the international debut of Chelsea's William Gallas on Saturday. Yesterday, the 25-year-old stressed the importance of playing in the Premier League

"Would I be a French international if I had stayed in France?" he said. "Frankly, I'm not sure at all. At Chelsea, I've reached another level."

The Fulham striker Steve Marlet, who scored twice at the Stade de France, agreed: "Not for one second have I regretted my choice," he said. "I've progressed even more in England and I believe that the majority of Les Bleus who play there would say the same."

"The intensity of the matches, the stadia that are always full – these things contribute towards pushing you to make further efforts."

The Malta coach, Sigi Held, has told his team that they cannot afford to waste chances against the French. Malta missed a number of opportunities in their 2-0 defeat to Israel on Saturday and a defeat against France would effectively kill off their slim qualification hopes.

"We had several chances to score against Israel but we failed to put them into the net. We can never expect to finish with a good result if we miss such chances," Held said.

However, the coach still managed to see some positive aspects to the defeat. "Comparing our performance to that against Slovenia, we made some progress," he said. "Against Slovenia, we hardly created any goalscoring opportunities but against Israel we created some. I hope we can progress by making even more."

With no injury or suspension worries, Held could field his best possible team in the crucial Group One match. No major changes from the team which lost to Israel are expected, although the Lokomotiv Sofia midfielder Stefan Giglio could return to the starting XI after completing a suspension.

If Giglio does play, he is likely to be given the difficult job of marking the Real Madrid playmaker Zinedine Zidane.