Why Paris Saint-Germain Can't Afford Defeat to Marseille on Sunday

On Sunday night, Paris Saint-Germain hosts Olympique de Marseille at the Parc des Princes for the first Le Classique of the season. It is the most anticipated derby for a number of seasons, but victory this weekend is much more important for PSG if they want to retain their Ligue 1 title this season.

After a slow start, the Marseille juggernaut has picked up momentum and looked unbeatable in the first quarter of the season. Defeat to Lyon was a small bump in the tracks, but although not convincing, the 3-1 win over Lens last Sunday night got Marcelo Bielsa’s side back on the right road.

OM’s defeat to Lyon helped PSG reduced the gap down to four points, but at half-time against Lorient on Saturday, there was a chance the gap could be increased.

Francois Mori/Associated Press

In what has become a typical PSG performance this season, they left a lot to be desired in the first half. They needed a stern word from Laurent Blanc before making a comeback, winning the game 2-1 with goals from Edinson Cavani and Jean-Christophe Bahebeck.

It was less than convincing and had an air of deja vu about it for the side from the capital. Too often this season PSG has failed to impress in the league, leaving their best performances for the Champions League, although, apart from their game against Barcelona, they haven’t exactly set the competition on fire.

After finishing in sixth last season, Marseille don’t have the burden of playing in European competition and it is going to become a huge advantage as the season continues. Bielsa is known for preferring to stick with his favoured XI, and without the same backlog of games that PSG will have to endure, this should give Marseille an edge.

Playing the first Classique at home on Sunday, already four points behind Marseille, means that Blanc cannot afford to lose any ground at this stage of the season.

PSG’s 1-0 win over Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League secured qualification for the last 16, but they will still have to fight Barcelona for the honour of top spot in Group F. This means they can’t completely rest players until that issue is decided.

Then, the longer and further they go in the competition, the more weighted the performances will be towards the Champions League, giving Marseille the advantage in the title race.

Blanc has struggled to find a balance between the league and Europe, the performances in the league have been far from impressive and the players themselves look more interested in playing mid-week than in the bread and butter of Le Championnat.

David Vincent/Associated Press

Bielsa will be without Andre Ayew, Jeremy Morel, Alaixys Romao and potentially Brice Dja Djedje for Sunday’s derby. There will be players out of position and a few tweaks made to the tactical approach, putting OM at a slight disadvantage.

PSG will miss Thiago Motta through suspension and the availability of Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still up in the air. However, the club did post a picture on Instagram of the Swede training with the ball, hinting towards a possible return.

"

.@Ibra_official est de retour à l'entraînement ! pic.twitter.com/EcpjqLjxBb

— PSG Officiel (@PSG_inside) November 6, 2014"

It would be devastating to PSG’s morale if a wounded and less than 100 percent Marseille side came to Paris and took all three points away from the capital. But if the home side were to come out on top, Marseille should be confident that PSG still has the ability to slip up in the league and give them a chance to increase the gap once again.

Defeat in a passionate derby is never accepted by fans of either side, but les Marseillais looking at the bigger picture would be confident that they can continue their impressive run of form in the league, regardless of a defeat on Sunday.

However, PSG fans would be worried that their players, still searching for form this season in the league, would feel the bigger sense of loss if their dreaded rivals came and conquered the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening.