Looking to move level on points with their visitors at the summit of the French top flight, Marseille will welcome Paris Saint-Germain for the latest edition of Le Classique in Ligue 1 on Sunday night.
Les Olympiens are coming into this clash following their biggest win of the season to date, whilst Les Parisiens are recovering from a hard-fought Champions League contest earlier in the week.
Match preview
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Following an eighth-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season - missing out on a place in the Conference League by just the single point - Marseille are on a mission to place inside the upper echelons of the division this time around, and their quest for the French crown has started brightly.
After beating Champions League-competing Brest 5-1 away from home on the opening day of the term, Les Olympiens produced another five-star performance on their travels last weekend, when goals from the likes of Elye Wahi and Luis Henrique fired them to a 5-0 battering of Montpellier HSC.
Adding his sixth goal of the Ligue 1 term last time out versus Montpellier, former Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood has made a positive start to life in French football, with the 23-year-old providing seven goal contributions across eight league appearances to date following a season at La Liga's Getafe in 2023-24.
Losing just one of their opening eight of the 2024-25 top-tier schedule, Les Olympiens are currently occupying third position in the Ligue 1 standings, three points ahead of fourth-placed Lille and just three points behind early pacesetters PSG and Monaco in second place.
After guiding Brighton & Hove Albion to the first-ever European qualification during a success-laden spell in England, Roberto De Zerbi is looking to replicate some South Coast magic in Marseille, with the forward-thinking Italian enjoying a steady start to his stint at Stade Velodrome.
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Following a sobering two-goal defeat at the home of Premier League title challengers Arsenal in the Champions League at the beginning of the month, PSG bounced back with a share of the spoils on the continent on Tuesday evening versus PSV Eindhoven, bringing the French champions' points total up to four after three matches.
It appeared as if Les Parisiens were hurtling towards consecutive defeats on the European stage when PSV winger Noa Lang opened the scoring at Parc des Princes in the first half, but a stunning strike from full-back Achraf Hakimi spared the blushes of the hosts in Paris.
Focusing on domestic matters, Luis Enrique's troops sit alongside Monaco and fifth-placed Lens as the only three outfits in Ligue 1 who are yet to taste defeat after eight fixtures, with Sunday's visitors enjoying a relatively-comfortable victory over Strasbourg last weekend.
Goals from former Southampton man Sekou Mara and Pape Diong were mere consolations for Liam Rosenior's side, with efforts from Senny Mayulu, Marco Asensio, Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-In deciding the destination of the points in the favour of the French champions.
On the hunt to secure their fourth straight domestic crown, PSG are currently occupying top spot in the Ligue 1 standings as the harsh winter months approach, level on points with Monaco in second and three ahead of Sunday's hosts Marseille, who are enduring a seven-game winless run against Les Parisiens in the league.
Team News
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Marseille are hoping to have left-back Quentin Merlin available for Le Classique on Sunday afternoon, with the 22-year-old returning to first-team training earlier this week following a thigh injury.
Les Olympiens will definitely be without the talents of Valentin Carboni, who is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Following the departure of Kylian Mbappe in the summer, PSG's forward options have taken a further hit at the start of the term due to the ankle issue sustained by Goncalo Ramos.
Les Parisiens are unable to call upon the talents of World Cup-winning defender Lucas Hernandez, who has not featured since May because of a cruciate ligament injury.
The visitors' options at the back are further reduced by the absence of Presnel Kimpembe, with the defender out until next month due to a muscle strain.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Merlin, Balerdi, Cornelius, Garcia; Hojbjerg, Rabiot; Greenwood, Harit, Rowe; Wahi
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Ruiz; Dembele, Barcola, Lee
We say: Marseille 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
With PSG winless during their last three away matches across Ligue 1 and the Champions League, Marseille should be quietly confident of earning a positive result on Sunday afternoon.
That being said, after a respectable point versus PSV on the continent, we are expecting Les Parisiens to build some momentum by collecting three points this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
