Last weekend’s round of fixtures had it all, massive shocks, great spectacles and even greater goals, as well as some pure comedy moments. This weekend we’re back for the tenth round of fixtures and we’re hoping for more Ligue 1 magic, and we’re also yearning for a team to genuinely compete for top of the table PSG as they start to pull away from the rest of the pack. In addition, towards the bottom of the table, a section is seemingly starting to appear as is a fascinating battle between six teams stuck on six points or less.
Ligue 1 fans are in for a treat this Sunday as two Ligue 1 giants clash heads when Marseille host Paris SG. Both sides have been in excellent form recently, with Marseille winning three of their last four matches and drawing the other. Paris SG, however, will be favorites as they have won every single match this season, bar one which they drew, and have made a serious investment into their squad which is starting to pay dividends.
Marseille vs. Paris SG
3-Way: 1: Marseille +650; X: +450 Draw; 2: PSG -189
Spread +1.5: Marseille -116; PSG +114
Total +3.5: Over +100; Under -105
Marseille
Marseille lost some momentum as they failed to extend their three-win streak, but it could have been worse than 3-3 had opponents Strasbourg forced a tighter hold on the game in front of their home crowd last weekend. Although Marseille was matched in all areas of the pitch, they seemed the likelier team to win early on as Dmitri Payet finished off a neat move turning the ball into the far corner for his first goal of the season, with just six minutes played. However, Strasbourg equalized with the help of a heavy deflection to bring the game level at 1:1. Marseille had a couple of chances through Clinton N’Jie, who snatched a good chance well-wide, and Adil Rami who came close from a header, but they were unable to regain the lead before the end of an exciting half.
Luckily for Marseille, it didn’t take long in the second half for them to put them in front again, as an attempted cross aimed at teammate Konstantinos Mitroglou missed his head and went straight into the back of the net with a slight nick on a Strasbourg defender. All of a sudden, Strasbourg found the second wind and laid siege to the Marseille goal, scoring twice more and were unlucky not to make it 4:2. Shell-shocked, Les Olympiens soldiered on and rescued a point in the last few minutes of the match as Mitroglou pounced on a rebound as the goalkeeper spilled a long-range shot in front of the Greek attacker, bringing the score-line to 3-3.
The draw will have disappointed a side looking for a top-three spot, having been pitted against a newly-promoted side. That being said, they might have won had it not been for a fifteen-minute blitz from their opponent who scored two goals in that time. On balance, however, it was probably a fair result.
On a positive note, what Marseille can be happy about is that the right players got their goals, with new signing Mitroglou able to take confidence from his first goal in his first competitive appearance, while world-class talent Dmitri Payet can hopefully kick on after a mixed bag of performance to his Ligue 1 campaign so far.
One thing that manager Rudi Garcia will be tearing his hair out over is his defense, as he will wonder why on earth a battle-worn and international-experienced centre-back pairing of Adil Rami and Rolando are so prone to mistakes, continuously failing to deal with basic defensive responsibilities such as closing down properly or dealing appropriately with corners. Despite being placed in the fourth position, the three goals they conceded in their last fixture now takes their total conceded amount to fifteen, far higher than any of the other top five.
Manager Rudi Garcia will be without defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo due to a red card suspension in a previous match.
Paris SG
League leaders Paris were fortunate to come away from Dijon with a 2:1 win through some late action. Although there was the odd Dijon chance in the first half, PSG imposed themselves on their opponents, with Dani Alves hitting the crossbar early on with a long-range free kick. Then, it was Marquinhos’s turn to hit the crossbar after a lovely ball from Neymar, and soon the Brazilian forward was creating play again as he passed to Kylian Mbappé who shot straight the keeper.
The 18-year-old French starlet had another golden opportunity wasted as he had a free shot at goal from Angel Di Maria’s cross, but he was denied by the keeper when he should have scored. Eventually, the pressure caved in on PSG’s opponents as Neymar had a shot parried away, landing to the feet of right-back Thomas Meunier to slide the ball in. However, a moment of magic saw Dijon score with a looping volley from the serious range finding its way past a helpless Alphonse Areola and into the net. A five-minute panic ensued with PSG desperate to regain their lead, and eventually their panic paid off as Meunier scored his second and his team’s second deep into stoppage time, the ball passed across goal by Mbappé after some clever dribbling down the wing, and passed into the goal with the keeper nearly keeping it out.
Thomas Meunier’s two goals was an unlikely source, with him being a defender, and PSG will hope not to have to rely on his services for the rest of the season. Saying that, three points are three points and PSG will be delighted to have shown Ligue 1 that they can not only pull teams apart, but they also possess the ability to grind out results. Furthermore, the three points they earned has now extended their lead over second place Monaco to six points, and it’s easy to see them starting to run away with the title from now until May.
One may look at this performance and point to some key absentees. The first of which was Edinson Cavani, who has scored eight league goals this season and could have definitely come in handy to take over Meunier’s scoring duties. Two others were the regular PSG midfield pivot, Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti, the first of which supplying their side with balance while doing the less glorious work in the team, while Verrati’s creativity was clearly missed. The last missing player was centre-back Thiago Silva, although you can’t say that he could have possibly done anything to change the last goal from occurring. Thankfully for PSG, Cavani, Motta, and Verratti will be back on Sunday.
The only player, manager Unai Emery will be missing for Sunday’s match will be centre-back Thiago Silva through a muscle injury.
Marseille vs. Paris SG – MATCH PREDICTION
This will be Paris Saint Germain’s toughest test this Ligue 1 campaign so far, but I feel as though it will more of a test of their defense than their attack. Marseille’s centre-back pairing has never found their rhythm, while Paris SG seemingly needs just one player to find their feet to score, and usually more than one shows up. In addition, with Cavani and Verratti back in the side to add more creativity and goals, I would expect PSG to score a few. That being said, I believe that Marseille will score too, just not nearly as many as their opponents.
MY PICK: Paris SG +1.5 AH (+114)
