OM goes straight to Classico, Sunday, September 13 (at 9 p.m.), to break a series that has lasted for a decade.
The Marseille club's last victory dates back to February 28, 2010 at the Parc des Princes - November 27, 2011 at the Vélodrome - but André Villas-Boas's team thinks they will arrive at the right time to face a Paris diminished by absences.
The capital club, with an ongoing series of 17 wins in 20 games in all competitions against OM, would like to continue its domination over its Marseille rival.
But the Covid-19 epidemic has passed through there, and in early September PSG saw seven of its executives tested positive: Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Keylor Navas, Leandro Paredes, Mauro Icardi, Marquinhos and Kylian Mbappé.
For the Classico, Paris recovers the first four cities, with a question mark on their state of form.
OM were also not spared by the virus in August, having even had to postpone their first game of the season against AS Saint-Étienne due to several players who tested positive, but the Marseille club has since recovered its vitality.
Marseille is present in this Classico with more sporting certainties, especially since it won its first meeting in the French championship (3 to 2 against Brest on August 30) when its Parisian opponent lost for his return to Ligue 1 (1-0 against Lens on September 10).
"Paris has slowed down a bit, it gave our supporters a little hope," admitted OM coach André Villas-Boas.
"We want to win. Maybe it's a chance, the right time for us."
"If you are to celebrate the defeats of others…"
PSG, lacking in offensive efficiency at Lens, will certainly have to rely on the returns of several of its star players to gain the upper hand over Steve Mandanda.
"It's a question of whether [these players] start or end the match for us. If there is no risk, we will try," said Paris coach Thomas Tuchel.
"The only thing that is clear is that they will not be 100%, echoed André Villas-Boas. We know what we suffered with our players who had the coronavirus, it is is hard [physically, Editor's note]. "
In addition to the sporting and health situation of this Classico, this Sunday's PSG-OM was also punctuated with a few passes between the two clubs which are the folklore of this Ligue 1 summit. Dimitri Payet lit the first fuse August 23… After the defeat of PSG against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
The Olympian midfielder posted on Twitter a GIF reminding that only his club had a European star above its emblem.
"It's fair game between two rival clubs," said the player at a press conference on Friday.
Asked about this and the fact that OM supporters celebrated the defeat of PSG, coach Thomas Tuchel replied on Saturday: "They celebrated our defeat against Manchester last year. Nothing new, it does not I'm not interested. If you have to celebrate the defeats of others, it's because you have nothing to celebrate ".
In another register, the Collective Ultras Paris (CUP) stood out on Saturday by deploying two offensive banners, one aimed at Dimitri Payet and the other against the Marseille club.
An initiative that sparked the indignation of the anti-homophobia collective Rouge Direct on Sunday.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR