Le Classique rivals prepare for battle with much more than just bragging rights on the line, as Marseille welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Orange Velodrome for Sunday's headline act in Ligue 1.
The two bitter rivals occupy first and second place in the top-flight rankings ahead of this weekend's finale, where Igor Tudor's men could move to within just two points of the champions.
Match preview
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Having already denied PSG a shot at glory in the Coupe de France this month, there should be no shreds of trepidation from Tudor's goal-happy Marseille crop, whose prolific tendencies were needed to see off an inspired Toulouse side last weekend.
Thijs Dallinga took just three minutes to fire home the opener for Toulouse before Chancel Mbemba, Cengiz Under and goalscoring full-back Nuno Tavares turned the game on its head, but Marseille still had to survive a late scare when Ado Onaiwu reduced the deficit with three minutes remaining.
Consequently, Les Olympiens remain on the coat-tails of PSG in second place in the table - five points worse off than the champions - but Monaco and Lens are both within touching distance of Tudor's side and can upset the apple cart if results go their way this weekend.
Consigning their patchy form towards the end of 2022 to history, Marseille have nine victories to shout about from 11 games in all competitions in 2023 - collecting a league-high 29 points on the road - but the bulk of their recent slip-ups have come on their own patch.
Indeed, Marseille have only won three of their last eight home contests in Ligue 1 and have kept just two clean sheets at the Orange Velodrome all season long, so a stimulating spectacle should be on the menu against a PSG side whose defensive record also leaves a lot to be desired.
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Death, taxes, and Lionel Messi scoring a last-gasp free kick to save his manager's bacon. Christophe Galtier's PSG were ostensibly on course for a straightforward win over Lille last Sunday courtesy of early goals from Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, but Bafode Diakite, Jonathan David and Jonathan Bamba silenced the Parc des Princes in the hour that followed.
Football advisor Luis Campos took his job title quite literally - coming down to the touchline to bark instructions alongside Galtier - who witnessed Mbappe level matters in the 87th minute before a free kick in Messi territory was lined up in the fifth minute of added time, and the script was followed to a tee.
The 35-year-old's effort cannoned in off the post to buy Galtier a bit more time in the hotseat, with the ex-Lille boss managing to snap a three-game losing run and maintaining his side's five-point lead at the summit, but there are still few reasons for optimism given the manner of their recent performances.
Now without a clean sheet in seven consecutive games in all tournaments, PSG's last two road matches against Marseille and Monaco have ended in defeat, and the champions have only beaten Montpellier HSC on their travels in the league since the turn of the year.
As mentioned, Marseille sent PSG packing 2-1 in the Coupe de France earlier this month, and Les Olympiens could now record back-to-back wins over the champions for the first time in the Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) era, which could only accelerate the trigger-happy board's pursuit of a Galtier successor.
Team News
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The Marseille treatment room will hold Amine Harit for several more months as he recovers from his serious knee injury, and Tudor is also without centre-back Samuel Gigot, who remains in a protective boot due to an ankle injury.
Gigot is not the only Olympiens centre-back who will watch Le Classique from the sidelines, as Chancel Mbemba must serve a suspension, so Eric Bailly should return to link arms with Sead Kolasinac and Leonardo Balerdi.
Ruslan Malinovskyi came off the bench for Azzedine Ounahi at half time against Toulouse and played a huge role in Mbemba's goal, which ought to lead for a recall for the Ukrainian playmaker in an otherwise settled team.
As for PSG, Galtier's injury crisis had begun to ease prior to the visit of Lille, but Neymar and Nuno Mendes were both casualties of that seven-goal thriller, with the former coming off on a stretcher with a sprained ankle that should rule him out for up to four weeks - regular injury victim Renato Sanches (hamstring) welcomes him back to the medical bay.
Mendes's knock to the knee is not thought to be as serious, but Juan Bernat may be required to step into the left-back spot, and on two brighter defensive notes, Marquinhos and Nordi Mukiele are now back in full training.
Achraf Hakimi is still a doubt, though, and there have been suggestions that 16-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery could be trialled in a right-back spot as a last resort, but Mukiele will do everything in his power to prove his fitness to Galtier, who has been ill himself this week.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Bailly, Balerdi, Kolasinac; Clauss, Rongier, Veretout, Tavares; Under, Malinovskyi; Sanchez
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Mukiele, Marquinhos, Ramos, Bernat; Verratti, Danilo, Vitinha; Messi; Mbappe, Ekitike
We say: Marseille 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Had Neymar been available for this encounter, PSG would have felt confident of coming away from hostile territory with at least a point, but the Brazilian's absence coupled with ongoing concerns over Hakimi's fitness means that another miserable away day could be on the cards for Les Parisiens.
Galtier cannot solve the champions' defensive shortcomings overnight, and while Marseille have been far from perfect on their own patch, Tudor's team have a taste for goals and could post a carbon copy of their Coupe de France win over PSG to blow the title race wide open.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
