Paris Saint-Germain will look to continue their surge towards the Ligue 1 title when they welcome fourth-placed Marseille to the French capital on Sunday night.
Thomas Tuchel's side currently boast an incredible 17-point lead over second-placed Lille in France's top flight, still with a game in hand, having won 24 of their 27 league matches this term.
Paris Saint-Germain
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PSG have been far too good for the rest of Ligue 1 this term. Indeed, 24 wins and just one defeat from their 27 matches has left them top of the table, some 17 points ahead of second-placed Lille with a game in hand.
Not only are Tuchel's team comfortably the highest scorers with 83 goals, they also boast the best defensive record, having shipped just 15 in their 27 games, which is another indication of their incredible dominance.
Domestically, it is shaping up to be another strong campaign as they prepare to face Nantes in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France early next month, but the French giants have once again failed on the European stage.
A 2-0 win away to Manchester United in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie placed PSG in a very strong position, but they incredibly suffered a 3-1 home defeat in the second leg to lose on away goals.
This was supposed to be the season where PSG really made their mark in Europe, but that will have to wait for another year. There is no getting away from the fact that it was a major, major disappointment; the show must go on, though, and their supporters will be expecting a strong end to the campaign.
PSG bounced back from the defeat against United by thumping Dijon 4-0 on March 12 and will be looking for a positive result against Marseille ahead of the international break, which kicks in after this weekend's fixtures.
Tuchel's team will then return to action with a trip to Toulouse in Ligue 1, before taking on Nantes in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France next month. There will be no Coupe de la Ligue this term, though, as they were dumped out of the competition by Guingamp at the start of 2019.
It is shaping up to be a very, very interesting summer transfer window for PSG, particularly with Juventus strongly linked with a big-money move for Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman, however, has played down suggestions that he could leave his current club at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWLW
Marseille
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Mario Balotelli scored the only goal of the match against his former club Nice last weekend as Marseille continued their excellent run of form to strengthen their grip on fourth position in the table.
Balotelli has turned out to be an inspired signing for Marseille, finding the back of the net on five occasions in seven appearances for Rudi Garcia's team, who have now been victorious in five of their last six Ligue 1 matches.
Fourteen wins, five draws and nine defeats - that is how Marseille have performed this season, with a total of 47 points leaving them in fourth. Les Olympiens are just three points off third-placed Lyon and will be looking to become just the second team to beat PSG in France's top flight during the 2018-19 campaign.
It is a tough ask for Garcia's side, though, when considering that they have only been victorious in five of their 14 away league matches this season. PSG, meanwhile, have posted 14 wins from their 14 home league games this term.
Marseille have not actually beaten PSG in the league since November 2011, meanwhile, and suffered a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture earlier this season. They have been excellent in recent weeks, but PSG are, by some considerable distance, the best team in the division.
Marseille's defensive record is also poor when considering their position in the table. Indeed, they have conceded 35 times in their 28 league matches, which is the worst record in the top 10.
A disastrous Europa League group campaign saw Garcia's side pick up just one point from their six matches, but Balotelli appears to have changed the whole feeling around the club and a win over PSG on Sunday night would leave Lyon sweating in third position.
Recent form: WWWDWW
Team News
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It had been thought that Edinson Cavani would start for PSG against Dijon last time out, but the Uruguay international did not even make the bench and is again a huge doubt for this game with a troublesome hip injury.
Neymar is also still on the sidelines with a foot problem, meaning that Mbappe should again be joined in the final third by Angel di Maria as Julian Draxler is still suffering from a hamstring injury.
Tuchel went with a 3-5-2 formation against Dijon, which might be the case again this weekend, with Marco Verratti and Marquinhos holding the middle of the park.
As for Marseille, Balotelli will again start at the tip of the attack. There should also be spots in the XI for Florian Thauvin and Valere Germain, with Lucas Ocampos also keeping his position in a wide area.
Dimitri Payet and Kevin Strootman both started on the bench against Nice last weekend, which could again be the case in this match as Garcia prepares to stick by the team that featured last time out.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Areola; Kehrer, Silva, Kimpembe; Meunier, Verratti, Marquinhos, Alves, Bernat; Di Maria, Mbappe
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Sakai, Caleta-Car, Kamara, Sarr; Ocampos, Sanson, Lopez, Thauvin; Balotelli, Germain
Head To Head
As mentioned, PSG won the reverse match 2-0 earlier this season, while they recorded a 3-0 victory when the pair locked horns in the French capital during the 2017-18 campaign.
Marseille have not actually beaten PSG in Ligue 1 since November 2011, while Les Olympiens have not won on their travels against the capital giants since February 2010.
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Marseille
We are expecting a close game on Sunday night as Marseille have been excellent in recent weeks. However, it is difficult to look past PSG due to their stunning league form throughout the campaign.
Matt Law
