Marseille vs PSG – News and Probable Lineups

On Sunday evening, Marseille will host Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Velodrome for the inaugural Le Classique of the 2026-27 Ligue 1 season.

Marseille’s previous league match saw them suffer a 1-0 defeat to Rennes at Roazhon Park, whereas PSG managed to return to winning form by overcoming Brest.

Match overview

Following a second-place finish in the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season, Marseille must have felt let down to have missed the top four in May. However, given the poor start to their current campaign, there are certainly concerns that the situation may deteriorate further.

Despite a strong start to their league campaign with a convincing 4-0 win over Strasbourg at the Stade Velodrome, Marseille has faced setbacks, falling to defeats against Mônaco, Paris FC, and Rennes in their last three fixtures, placing them in a disappointing 13th position in the standings.

Bruno Genesio’s team also had a disastrous start in the UEFA Europa League, losing 4-1 against Besiktas at the Tupras Stadium on Thursday. This was the first time since November 2021 that they conceded more than three goals in a European match.

Marseille’s heavy defeat this week continues a worrying trend of leaking goals, as they have conceded 10 in their previous four matches, with three of those goals leading to a loss against Paris FC in their last Ligue 1 home outing.

Having lost seven of their last eight encounters against PSG, including a heavy 5-0 defeat at the Parc des Princes in February, the challenges do not ease for the hosts, who will need to perform exceptionally well if they want to return to winning ways on Sunday.

After achieving a Ligue 1 and Champions League double in May for the second consecutive season, PSG, the first team since Ajax in 1973 to accomplish this feat, have had an unexpectedly sluggish start to their current league campaign.

Even though they secured a vital 1-0 victory against Brest at the Stade Francis-Le Ble on Sunday, Luis Enrique’s squad gained just two points in their previous three league games, leaving them in seventh place and trailing division leaders Mônaco by eight points.

Similar to their rivals, defensive weaknesses during this period have likely contributed to their struggles, with PSG conceding an average of 1.5 goals per match this season, compared to 0.85 throughout the entire last campaign.

Nonetheless, PSG has shown signs of recovery over the last two weeks, cruising to a 6-1 victory against Slovan Bratislava to top their Champions League group before achieving their first league win of the season last weekend.

Facing a tough stretch of fixtures against Manchester City, Barcelona, and Olympique Lyonnais in the coming six weeks, Enrique would undoubtedly be eager for his team to maintain their momentum by seeking revenge against Marseille this Sunday, following their 1-0 loss at the Stade Velodrome last season.

Team News

Once again, Marseille will be missing midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia on Sunday, as the 33-year-old continues to recover from a thigh injury that has sidelined him for the last two weeks.

Midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi, who chose to avoid surgery for a suspected ACL injury, is expected to make a return soon, but this weekend may come too soon for him.

It remains uncertain if Derek Cornelius will play after he was substituted due to a knock during the second half against Besiktas, but it seems likely that Nayef Aguerd will start alongside CJ Egan-Riley in defense anyway.

Argélian forward Amine Gouiri, having scored four goals in Ligue 1 so far this season, sits among the league’s top scorers and will be keen to step up and score in this weekend’s Le Classique.

For PSG, the primary injury concern ahead of this match is Moroccan right-back Achraf Hakimi, who had to leave the field in the first half against Brest and is a significant doubt due to a strain in his right thigh.

With the 27-year-old likely to miss out for the first time this season, it seems probable that Enrique will turn to Warren Zaire-Emery to fill in for him, forming a defense alongside Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho, and Marquinhos.

With both Ilya Zabarnyi and Senny Mayulu having been omitted from the matchday squad for the trip to Brest, it remains to be seen if either will be available for what promises to be a robust PSG bench this Sunday.

Having signed for PSG after his decisive goal in July’s World Cup final, Ferran Torres is emerging as Enrique’s most formidable attacking option this season, already finding the net six times since joining the club.

Marseille probable starting XI:

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

Paris Saint-Germain probable starting XI:

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

After concluding their winless start to the season with a victory against Brest last weekend, PSG will be optimistic about carrying that positive energy into their visit to the Stade Velodrome this weekend.

We anticipate that this scenario will unfold as well, with Enrique’s squad edging towards the top of Ligue 1 while Marseille faces the prospect of losing four of their first five league matches for the first time in the club’s history.