February 7, 2023, 10:29 AM
February 7, 2023, 10:29 AM
Due to the moments of form, the calendar and the absences, Marseille has the opportunity this Wednesday to end the curse in the classics, in a confrontation with PSG that focuses all the attention of the round of 16 of the French cup.
In recent history, the rule of the capital is implacable, with only one win for Marseille in the last 26 games disputed between the two giants of French football.
A dominance that extends to the cup competition, where PSG have eliminated their rival ten of the eleven times they have met in the KO tournament since the first tie between the two in 1975.
Before last weekend, Igor Tudor’s Marseille were on a very positive run, with nine wins in the last ten Ligue 1 games, while PSG He had only added seven points of the 15 that had been played in 2023, so the difference in the standings had been reduced to five units, which led Marseille fans to dream of being able to play a league title that the club from the port city in the south of the country has not achieved since 2010.
The drought in the crown is even longer, more than three decades (1989).
– One win in the last 26 games –
The defeat on Sunday at the Velodrome against Nice in the regional derby (3-1) may have fallen like a jug of cold water among their fans, but they will fill the Marseillaise stadium again this Wednesday.
On the contrary, PSG seems to have recovered with two consecutive victories in Ligue 1, especially with a view to the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich on February 14 at the Parc des Princes.
But that may be precisely the main problem for PSG, that the obsession with the Champions League makes them neglect the Cup. And those from the capital will continue without being able to count on Kylian Mbappé, injured in a thigh, and although Neymar will be back, the Brazilian resumed training on Monday.
Marseille hopes that it will be enough to change the trend of recent years. The last Marseillaise victory in a classic was in September 2020, 1-0 in an empty Parc des Princes due to the pandemic. The last victory at the Vélodrome dates back to 2011 (3-0).
In addition to the classic four other qualifiers will be played between Ligue 1 teams: Lyon-Lille, Toulouse-Reims, and Angers-Nantes on Wednesday and Lorient-Lens on Thursday.
The duel between Paris FC and Annecy will ensure the presence of at least one Ligue 2 team in the quarterfinals, while Rodez will look for the ticket against Auxerre.
The surprise of the tournament, Vierzon, from the fourth category of French football, will try to keep alive the cupbearer dream against Grenoble, another pensioner from Ligue 2.
