Introduction
It has been a roller-coaster season for the superstars of France. After missing out on the UCL trophy last season by a whisker. They almost barely scraped past the group stage this season. They saw their manager being sacked and If that was not it, even domestically things are not looking that good for PSG. A league that is almost always decided even before the season begins is up for grabs this year. The credit to that can be either bestowed upon PSG’s poor run of form or to Lyon and Lille’s extremely well run of form. But among all this top of the table ruckus, one club that has missed out on the fun is Marseille who sit 9th on the table. Tonight is the night of the French classic. It’s Marseille vs Paris.
Head to head record
Paris Saint-Germain has a good record against Marseille and has won 31 matches out of a total of 52 games played between the two sides. Marseille have managed 12 victories against their rival and 9 games ended in no result for the two sides. Marseille is going through a bad patch this year. They will be hoping to turn the tables when they face the Les Parisiens in this exciting clash.
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Previous Results
Marseille
Marseille have been Winless since a 3-1 triumph over Montpellier HSC on January 6. Ninth-placed Marseille’s title dream is already dead in the water and they are now fighting an uphill battle to make the top five, although they do have two games in hand over most of the teams around them. They have
not lost three home games on the bounce in the top flight since the 2011-12 campaign, but facing a star-studded PSG attack amid their multiple problems behind-the-scenes could certainly spell trouble for the struggling Hosts. In the last match, they have drawn with Lens 2-2 despite going 2-0 up after half time.
Form guide:-DLLLLD
PSG
PSG was in great form this season until they came to a grinding halt with a shock defeat to lowly Lorient two gameweeks ago by a margin of 3-2. But Pochettino’s outfit comfortably brushed aside another relegation side Nimmes 3-0 thanks to goals from Angel Di Maria, Pablo Sarabia, and Kylian Tonight they will be hoping for another dominant show when they face Marseille without some key players.
FORM GUIDE:-WWWWLW
Build up
PSG
Paris Saint-Germain is engaged in an intense battle with Lyon and Lille for the Ligue 1 title at the moment and cannot afford to drop points this weekend. The French champions have had their problems against Marseille and have a point to prove this weekend. However, they have received a much-needed boost in Neymar’s new 4-year deal. PSG normally dominates the story of any game they are involved in. However, this weekend they are traveling to Marseille, a team that has epically fallen from grace since last year.
Team news
Marco Verratti, Colin Dagba, and Abdou Diallo have tested positive for the coronavirus and will be excluded from the squad. Juan Bernat and Ander Herrera are also injured and have been ruled out of this fixture.
Marseille
Despite being in ninth place, Marseille’s goal difference is actually quite positive for their table position, sitting at +5. They can thank their defense for that, conceding only 24 goals in Ligue 1 this season.
Duje Caleta-Car has been a major strong point in their back line, which is why he recently garnered interest from Premier League champions Liverpool as the transfer window closed. Rumors are that he was heartbroken a deal was not put into place. But let’s see if he and his teammates can put the best attack of France at bay.
Players to watch out for
Neymar
He just signed a long term deal and he will be the focal point of PSG’s attack today. On his day he’s unstoppable and PSG fans would hope that day is today.
Mbappe
While his future looms in the clouds, it’s still a fact that he plays for PSG and he plays well. Along with his partner in crime Neymar, he’ll look to use his speed to stretch the defense and score goals.
Duje Caleta-Car
A fairy tale last-day transfer to Liverpool was ruled out leaving this Starlet in shatters but he’ll be looking to up his stock and attract more clubs today as he tries to stop the brute force of PSG.
Milik
He has been recently signed, but he’s a proven goal scorer. His aerial abilities will be useful especially in the absence of the opposition’s goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Conclusion
Paris Saint-Germain has been well below their best this season and will want to announce themselves as title favorites in this fixture while Marseille is in a self-created crisis and defeating the champions tonight may help their morale big time. Although Marseille boasts a very good defense but the attack they face tonight isn’t ordinary. We at Ballthatmatters predict a narrow win for PSG. As they haven’t been as great as well. Marseille 1- 2 PSG
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