The Ligue 1 season steps up a gear this weekend as the table-topping Paris Saint Germain welcome Olympique Marseille to the capital. Both sides are in the upper reaches of the league table, but a win would be significant for both sides.
Match Preview
Paris Saint Germain have started this new season like a house on fire. They have already opened up a five-point lead from the nearest contenders for their Ligue 1 crown- Nantes. However, they have already shown on two separate occasions that they aren’t unbeatable. They have already lost two games in the league this season, which has already led to Thomas Tuchel being under pressure, even at this early stage of proceedings.
These two defeats have come against Rennes and Stade Reims; with the latter of those coming on their home turf. That 2-0 defeat was a shock to the system, and they have quickly made changes to rectify that. In the three league games since that defeat, PSG have scored nine goals and only conceded once. They come into this fixture off the back of a comfortable night in the Champions League, which saw them beat Club Brugge 5-0. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick in that win to enter the top five of the youngest hat-trick scorers in the history of the competition. Mauro Icardi also scored a brace, and they will be hoping to continue that form.
Marseille currently sits in fourth going into the weekend’s action, and their biggest concern would be the number of goals that they are conceding. No other side in the top-four have conceded more than their eleven, and they are also having trouble finding the back of the net. They have won and drawn four times so far this season and only been beaten on two occasions. They come into the clash in fairly inconsistent form, as they have won once in their last five. During this space of time, they have drawn three times and lost once. Their most recent fixture was their last win, as they overcame Strasbourg 2-0. Boubacar Kamara and Kevin Strootman scored the goals in this win, but they will need to raise their game further if they are to get anything from their trip to Paris, and that is highlighted by the visitors being priced at 11.70 with BetXChange to get the win.
Head to Head
PSG holds the dominant advantage in the overall record as they have won on 19 occasions in the past. Marseille have won on nine occasions, and there have been seven draws. PSG average 1.8 goals per fixture, while Marseille only averages 1.3.
PSG Team News
Idrissa Gueye will join Neymar on the treatment table, and both players will miss this clash. Julian Draxler and Thilo Kehrer will also be missing.
Marseille Team News
Dimitri Payet will serve his one-match ban for this clash. Meanwhile, Alvaro Soberon and Florian Thauvin will also miss out.
Tip
It is extremely difficult to look past anything other than a PSG win in this clash. They are the league leaders and in extremely solid form. It could be a very long evening for Marseille should PSG start quickly.
