Marseille will welcome PSG in Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash at the Stade Velodrome. The side from Paris went down 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie but managed to return to winning ways thanks to Lionel Messi’s freekick in the final minute of the game, beating Lille 4-3 at home. PSG have won 18, drawn three, and lost three of their 23 Ligue 1 matches thus far, amassing 57 points.
Meanwhile, Marseille enjoyed an away win over Toulouse last time out and have moved up to second place on the table with a total of 52 points. Marseille will be aware of the chance to close the gap at the top. This season in Ligue 1, Lille’s form is good overall, with 16 wins, four draws, and four losses with 52 points.
We now look at some of the stats for both teams that will help predict the most likely outcome of the match.
Overall performance this season
The visual above shows the percentile rank of both teams as compared to other teams in Ligue 1 this season. PSG have better stats than the other in all the departments. The team are leading the table as well are ranked top in terms of their percentile ranks for most of the departments. Marseille, on the other hand, have done well in the league in terms of making recoveries and putting in crosses. Both teams are ranked similarly in terms of entries into the opponent’s penalty area per 90.
Marseille have scored 48 goals, averaging 1.92 xG per match. Their defence has let in 22 goals, conceding 0.92 goals per 90. The team averages 13.67 shots per game with a 37.8% accuracy rate. Additionally, the team averages 57.37% possession per match.
Meanwhile, PSG have netted 59 goals, averaging 2.26 xG per match. Their defence has let in 23 goals, having conceded 0.96 on average. PSG’s players take 14.4 shots per match with a 45.9% accuracy rate. In terms of ball possession rate, they average 59.53% per match.
Efficiency in attack
The two visuals above compare both teams on the basis of positional play and counter-attacks. The hosts lead the league for efficiency in counterattacks with 24% efficiency, whereas the visitors are on top when it comes to efficiency in positional attacks. PSG creates 32.38 positional attacks on average and takes shots from 26.3% of such plays. Meanwhile, Marseille creates 30.83 positional attacks per match, with 26% of them resulting in shots.
Alternatively, PSG launches 2.58 counterattacks per match, with 40.3% of these attacks ending in shots. Meanwhile, the hosts launch 2.04 counterattacks on average, with 45.1% of them ending in shots.
Success in defence
The above visual represents the ranking of teams in Ligue 1 based on their percentage of defensive duel wins. It can be seen that PSG are ranked lower in the league for successful defensive duels. PSG have a 52% win rate in defensive duels, and Marseille, on the other hand, have a 56% success rate. On average, Marseille attempts 73.17 defensive duels and makes 39.8 interceptions per 90 versus 66.74 defensive duels and 34.6 interceptions per 90 for PSG.
Key Players
Kylian Mbappe will be looking to add more goals to his ever-increasing tally. This season, he has scored 13 goals (9.58 xG) from 75 shots and has an xG of 0.13 per shot. He has scored a variety of goals, and most of them have come from inside the box or near the six-yard area. He will be one of many whom the Marseille backline will be terrified of and will be looking to contain at any cost.
Balerdi has been one of the key players behind Marseille’s success in defence this season, and his presence has been a huge boost for the team. He has been able to read the game well, making crucial interceptions and tackles to help the team maintain their solid defensive shape. He has a shot block xG of 0.7 and has blocked 19 shots, and he will play a key role in preventing the Parisians from getting attempts on goal.
Team news
Marseille will miss Amine Harit and Samuel Gigot through injury, whereas Mbemba and Under face suspension.
PSG will be without Neymar after the Brazil international was ruled out with ankle ligament damage. Sanches, Hakimi, and Mendes are also likely to miss the game due to injury concerns.
Overall, Marseille will look to close the gap between the top two and have already sent PSG packing in the Coupe de France round of 16. A win for them could go a long way and prove that the Parisians are far from being successful in their Champions League quest.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
