Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain will renew hostilities when they wrap up the weekend’s Ligue 1 action at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday evening.
With 26 matches in the books, high-flying PSG sit 12 points clear of second-placed Brest and 20 points ahead of seventh-placed Marseille.
Will the perennial champions extend their lead at the summit? Or could OM upset their bitter rivals? Read on to discover what our predictive analytics model forecasts.
Our Parisians gearing up for #LeClassique! ✊🔴🔵🔜 #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/YHPd8Gnu2d— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 27, 2024
Our Parisians gearing up for #LeClassique! ✊🔴🔵🔜 #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/YHPd8Gnu2d
Prior to the international break, Marseille suffered a 2-0 defeat to Rennes, with the visitors managing a solitary attempt on target at the Roazhon Park.
It is worth remembering, however, that Marseille secured three consecutive league victories before that loss, scoring 11 goals in the process (3.7 goals per game).
Better still, OM have avoided defeat at the Stade Velodrome this season, winning eight and drawing five of their 13 home league games.
Having lost just three of their previous 25 home matches in Ligue 1, Marseille will be quietly confident of picking up a positive result against the runaway leaders.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Montpellier 6-2 last time out, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in the rout at Stade de la Mosson.
That victory extended PSG’s unbeaten streak in Ligue 1 to 21 matches, and they have lost just one of their 26 league encounters this season.
Unsurprisingly, PSG boast the best offensive record in the division, having netted an impressive 62 goals this season (2.4 goals per game).
On top of that, the champions have avoided defeat in each of their 13 away league outings this term, keeping six clean sheets along the way.
Head-to-head: PSG won the reverse fixture 4-0 back in September, extending their winning streak over Marseille to four league matches.
Believe it or not, OM have managed to win just one of their last 23 Ligue 1 meetings with PSG, snatching a 1-0 victory in Paris back in 2020.
Team news: The hosts look set to be without the injured quartet of Bamo Meite, Samuel Gigot, Amir Murrilo and Valentin Rongier this weekend.
On the flip side, Paris Saint-Germain's injury list contains Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Marco Asensio, Layvin Kurzawa, Milan Skriniar and Presnel Kimpembe.
Despite PSG’s strong record in the fixture over the past few years, Marseille will back themselves to maintain their unbeaten run on home soil.
Accordingly, Forebet predicts that Marseille and PSG will play out a high-scoring draw, with both teams netting over 1.5 goals.