Marseille v PSG: Paris Saint-Germain heavy favourites for September’s Classique

Olympique de Marseille host Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday, 20 September 2026, with the visitors strongly favoured to win the latest edition of French football’s biggest fixture.

Nasser Eddy, a consultant for NCI Sport and presenter of the European Champions League on Radio Nostalgie, has assessed the match, which kicks off at 18:45 GMT.

Marseille are in crisis after four successive defeats in all competitions. Their only victory this season came in their Ligue 1 opener, a 4-0 win against Strasbourg on 21 August, but they then lost 4-1 away to Besiktas in their opening Europa League fixture on Thursday.

The 2026-27 squad has also been weakened by the departures of key players including Aubameyang, Rulli and Balerdi, while the club made no signings during the latest transfer window. Bruno Genesio, who took charge during the summer, therefore has a squad lacking both quality and depth.

Marseille have conceded 10 goals in five matches – an average of two per game – and three of the four goals that put them behind came within the opening 15 minutes. They have scored only three times in their past four matches, excluding the Strasbourg victory, and have won fewer than five corners per game on average.

The situation is markedly more positive for Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain. After beginning the Ligue 1 campaign with no wins and one defeat in their opening three games, they beat Slovan Bratislava 6-1 in the opening round of the Champions League before edging Brest 1-0 last weekend.

Paris Saint-Germain have won their past two matches in all competitions and average two goals per game this season, while conceding more than one. Their resilience was evident in comebacks against Stade Rennais and Lille OSC, having trailed 2-0 in both games.

Ferran Torres has made an immediate impact since joining Paris Saint-Germain, scoring six goals in five appearances in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. The Spain forward scored 16 goals in 33 La Liga appearances for FC Barcelona last season and is seeking a regular starting role, having previously competed with Robert Lewandowski at club level and Mikel Oyarzabal for Spain. At Paris Saint-Germain, he faces competition from Ousmane Dembele.

The recent head-to-head record also favours the visitors. Marseille’s only home Ligue 1 win against Paris Saint-Germain in the past 13 seasons came last season, when they won 1-0 against a side missing several key players, including Ousmane Dembele. Paris Saint-Germain won the return fixture 5-0 at the Parc des Princes.

The 1xBet prices make Paris Saint-Germain 1.43 favourites. Other listed selections are a goal before the 15th minute at 2.6, a 1-3 correct score at 9.5, Ferran Torres to score at 2.00 and Marseille to win fewer than three corners at 2.87.

Olympique de Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain will be shown live on Canal+Sports Afrique. Odds may change.