PSG: a 100th Classic under high tension at the Vélodrome. Sport

In the midst of a crisis, French football will blow away the time of its big poster, IF–PSG, Sunday (9 p.m.) during the 24th day of Ligue 1, between weakened Marseillais and Parisians thirsty for revenge.

The hectic season 1 of the series “Football TV rights” barely buckled, football resumes its rights, on the field, with its “Classic” co-broadcast by Canal +, back on the front of the stage, and Téléfoot, for the last direct of its short history. Follow the 100th classic live.

It is a meeting “timeless which resists everything”, rejoices Sunday L’Equipe, titling on “the embers” which promise an explosive evening. “Under very high voltage”, writes for his part Le Parisien, which persists and signs: it is “The return of the real Clasico”.

But in Marseille, this summit comes out of a terrible sequence: attack on his training center by his own supporters on Saturday, departure of his coach, André Villas-Boas, on Tuesday.

All this, while he has won only one of his last ten matches, in all competitions. The daily La Provence evokes in “one”, a team that has “Everything to gain”.

Indeed, the PSG risks the biggest. After the success of Lyon against Strasbourg on Saturday (3-0), the defending champion, 3rd in the standings (48 pts), must win to stay in contact with OL (52 pts) and Lille (51 pts) who play in Nantes (5:00 p.m.).

READ ALSO. OM – PSG. At Le Bourget airport, Parisian supporters launch the match

L’OM sans Milik

The cast will not be complete. The new OM character, Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik, has withdrawn.

Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas will also be missing, yet to recover from groin discomfort. Sergio Rico replaces him, as in the first leg on September 13 when OM had ended nine years of misfortune – and twenty matches in all – without ever beating their old rival (1-0).

There are still some fine players, including Steve Mandanda, absolute record holder for the number of Classics played (28), far ahead of Marco Verratti (16), or the gunmen of the two teams, Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet, Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappé.

Neymar, he should be there. Suffering from gastroenteritis which deprived him of training on Saturday, the Brazilian star appears well in the group which took the plane on Sunday morning.

READ ALSO. Reinforced safety system for the “Classic” OM-PSG Sunday

Dozens of CUP ultras accompanied the arrival of the players at Le Bourget airport, with chants and smoke. “Defend our colors,” they wrote on a banner. For the 100th OM-PSG in history, there will also be a feeling of revenge that still grips the Parisians, even if they won the Champions Trophy (2-1) on January 13.

It is indeed the “beauty” played by the only two French clubs to win a European Cup, the Champions League for OM in 1993, the Cup in 1996 for PSG.

This C1 will be part of the decor of the match for the Parisians, who can find in the angry opposition that the Marseillais promise them a good trial gallop for the round of 16 first leg on the lawn of FC Barcelona on February 16.

“They are two different parts. A match against Marseille is a derby, it’s something very special. Barcelona is another competition, another context ”, evacuated coach Mauricio Pochettino.

” The beautiful “

As for the directors, everything has changed compared to the first leg. In Marseille, the “handsome” Villas-Boas is replaced by an old actor, experienced but unknown, a regular at the theater of training centers, Nasser Larguet.

In Paris, the Argentinian Pochettino took over from Thomas Tuchel during the winter break. His first OM-PSG on the bench gave him the first title of his coaching career, the Champions Trophy.

But he knows his Classics like the back of his hand, having played six as a player, between 2001 and 2003, for two victories.

Larguet and Pochettino also had the good taste not to relativize the scope of the poster. “It’s our Champions League in the Championship,” says the director of the OM training center. “There are not only three points at stake but also passion, we know what this match means for our supporters”, assures the Argentinian technician. Let the show begin !

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