Olympique de Marseille host Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 on Sunday in Le Classique -- French soccer's leading club fixture. Jean Louis Gasset's men are looking to bounce back after two losses having made a strong start to life under the former PSG assistant coach while Luis Enrique's side is in strong form and thumped Montpellier HSC before the international break.
Kylian Mbappe was given a hot reception despite being France captain for the recent friendly win over Chile and he can expect and even more intimidating atmosphere this weekend given the absence of away supporters at Stade Velodrome. Losses to Villarreal and Stade Rennais have tempered a good start to life under Gasset and OM are back in the reckoning for Europe as well as into the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals.
Paris are quarterfinalists themselves in the UEFA Champions League although Marseille remain the only French club to boast that title -- for now. Les Phoceens are on a good run of form at home with four consecutive wins and have not suffered defeat on home soil across 90 minutes in any competition this season so far.
PSG are 12 points clear at the Ligue 1 summit coming into this weekend and have a Coupe de France semifinal to look forward to next week. Their 24-game unbeaten run across all competitions means that only Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen are also unbeaten in 2024 while the form book in this fixtures certainly favors the away side.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, March 31 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Stade Velodrome -- Marseille, France
- TV: beIN Sports USA | Stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: OM +240; Draw +280; PSG +100
Team news
Marseille: Ismaila Sarr is out along with Jonathan Clauss, Amir Murillo, Bamo Meite and Ulisses Garcia. Valentin Rongier is a long-term absentee while Jean Onana should also miss out. Samuel Gigot and Leonardo Balerdi could return albeit below optimal fitness with some reserve figures also required to fill out the squad.
Potential Marseille XI: Lopez; Mbemba, Balerdi, Merlin; Harit, Kondogbia, Ounahi, Veretout, Henrique; Aubameyang, Ndiaye.
PSG: Milan Skriniar has been closing on a recovery of late but Presnel Kimpembe and Marquinhos have been unavailable as well as Layvin Kurzawa. Bradley Barcola is also out while Marco Asensio has suffered another issue recently. Goncalo Ramos could come in next to Randal Kolo Muani and Mbappe in attack as PSG go for the jugular.
Potential PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Pereira, Beraldo, Mendes; Lee, Ugarte, Vitinha; Kolo Muani, Ramos, Mbappe.
Prediction
This one will likely be feisty and full-blooded, but PSG should win this based mainly on the greater availability of their players. Marseille will do well to put up a fight and keep it tight, but will likely be on the end of a first home loss of the season over 90 minutes. Pick: Marseille 1, PSG 2.
