Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain: PSG aim to deepen OM’s crisis in first Classique of season

Marseille host Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday evening in the first Classique of the 2026-27 Ligue 1 season, with the two clubs heading into the fixture on very different trajectories.

Marseille have lost their past three league matches against Monaco, Paris FC and Rennes, including a 1-0 defeat at Rennes, and have slipped to 13th in the table. Bruno Genesio’s side began the campaign with a 4-0 win over Strasbourg but have struggled since, having finished runners-up in 2024-25 before missing out on the top four last season.

Their European form has also worsened. Marseille were beaten 4-1 by Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday, conceding three times in the second half. They have now allowed 10 goals in their past four matches in all competitions.

Paris Saint-Germain ended a run of three league games without a win by beating Brest 1-0 at the Stade Francis-Le-Ble last Sunday. The champions had taken only two points from their previous three Ligue 1 fixtures and were seventh, eight points behind leaders Monaco, before that victory.

Luis Enrique’s side completed the Ligue 1 and Champions League double in May for a second successive season, becoming the first team to do so since Ajax in 1973. Although they have conceded 1.5 goals per game this season compared with 0.85 in 2025-26, they responded to their difficult league start with a 6-1 Champions League victory over Slovan Bratislava.

PSG have won seven of their past eight meetings with Marseille, including a 5-0 victory at Parc des Princes in February. Marseille’s encouragement comes from their 1-0 home win in this fixture last season.

Geoffrey Kondogbia, 33, remains out with a thigh injury for Marseille. Tochukwu Nnadi, who declined surgery after a suspected cruciate ligament rupture, is preparing to return but is not ready for this match. Derek Cornelius is doubtful after being injured against Besiktas, which could see Nayef Aguerd start alongside CJ Egan-Riley. Amine Gouiri is Marseille’s leading threat, with four Ligue 1 goals.

Achraf Hakimi is a major doubt for PSG after suffering a right-thigh strain against Brest. Warren Zaire-Emery is expected to deputise at right-back alongside Marquinhos, Willian Pacho and Nuno Mendes. Ilya Zabarnyi and Senny Mayulu are also uncertain to feature. Ferran Torres, signed this summer after scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final in July, has six goals and is PSG’s sharpest attacking player.

Probable teams

Marseille: De Lange; Weah, Egan-Riley, Aguerd, Emerson; Abdelli, Hojbjerg; Harit, Gomes, Paixo; Gouiri.

PSG: Safonov; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Dembele, Torres, Kvaratskhelia.

The prediction is for a 3-1 PSG victory. Suggested bets include PSG and over 2.5 goals at 1.56, both teams to score at 1.45 and Ferran Torres to score at 2.00. The exact-score selection of 1-3 is priced at 8.50 with Betclic.