Paris v. Marseille: Passion above all

a look at the table

After picking up three straight wins in the first two weeks of February, including a 5-1 thrashing of Saint-Étienne, Marseille have fallen to two defeats more recently: 3-0 away to Auxerre and 1-0 at home to Lens last weekend. Between these two losses, however, the southerners earned a vital 2-0 victory over Nantes, which helped them hold onto second place in the Ligue 1 table and reach a total of 49 points, three more than third-placed Nice.

Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, continue to build a seemingly unassailable lead at the top. By turning on the style to beat Lyon 3-2 and Lille 4-1, Luis Enrique's men sent out a powerful message to the rest of the teams in the French top flight heading into the season's run-in, while their most recent victim was none other than Rennes, who were unable to contain Les Rouge et Bleu's attacking force at Roazhon Park last Saturday in a 4-1 win for Paris.

THE TWO TEAMS' CURRENT FORM IN NUMBERS

THE OPPOSITION'S STRENGTHS

Roberto De Zerbi tends to set his side up in one of two relatively similar formations: 5-3-2 and 5-4-1. In goal, Argentina international Gerónimo Rulli has established himself as one of the key men in Marseille's starting XI as well as undoubtedly being one of the league's top three goalkeepers, while in front of him should be his Albiceleste teammate Leonardo Balerdi. It's possible that the OM captain will be accompanied in central defence by Geoffrey Kondogbia, who is now a firm fixture in Les Phocéens' ranks, but the identity of the third centre-back to start for the visitors tomorrow remains uncertain, with Amir Murillo out injured and Luiz Felipe barely used. Having recently returned to the squad, Derek Cornelius could end up being the lucky man, although Pol Lirola also represents a plausible option. The Spanish defender can also play at right wing-back, however, where he now faces competition from the promising Amar Dedić, who joined the club from FC Salzburg in the winter transfer window. On the opposite side, Quentin Merlin is expected to line up against Les Rouge et Bleu on Sunday, with the France under-21 international preferred to Ulisses Garcia, despite the latter rarely putting a foot wrong.

In midfield, Les Olympiens will be without their regular engine-room operator and arguably one of the French first division's finest midfielders, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who has been forced to pull out of this fixture with a calf injury, but the current Ligue 1 runners-up certainly aren't short of solutions in this position, with former Nantes man Valentin Rongier likely to step in as a natural replacement for Højbjerg.

Alongside him, French international Adrien Rabiot is, of course, expected to feature, as is Ismaël Bennacer, Marseille’s latest high-profile signing. Amine Harit (2 goals and 3 assists in Ligue 1 this season) will not be available due to a calf injury, which could open the door for 21-year-old Bilal Nadir to make an appearance during the match. In attack, there has been little suspense in recent weeks. The reason? Amine Gouiri has been in sensational form since arriving in Provence a month and a half ago, already tallying 3 goals and 3 assists in 6 matches for his new club. The former Rennes forward has quickly adapted, forming an effective partnership with England international Mason Greenwood (15 goals, 3 assists), who is currently trailing Ousmane Dembélé in the Ligue 1 top scorers rankings.

However, when it comes to attacking options, the Italian coach and his staff have plenty to choose from. Luis Henrique (7 goals, 4 assists) is enjoying the best season of his career by far, but he could be a casualty of the tactical system in place, just like Jonathan Rowe (2 goals, 2 assists), who also prefers to play as a winger. Unless the Marseille manager decides to spring a surprise by deploying one of them in a deeper role as a wing-back—a highly unlikely offensive gamble. Finally, Neal Maupay (4 goals, 4 assists) is expected to start on the bench before making his entrance in what promises to be an epic clash at the Porte d’Auteuil.