Marseille, France (SportsNetwork.com) - In a battle of a pair of top Ligue 1 clubs, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain put their unbeaten record on the line on Sunday when they face Marseille at the Velodrome.
The defending champions have a bit more on their plate this term with their inclusion in this season's Champions League and their depth was tested starting last week as Sunday's match sees Les Parisiens finish a stretch of three matches in eight days.
PSG began its busy run with a league clash against Toulouse at the Parc des Princes on Sept. 28 and rolled to a 2-0 win behind goals by Marquinhos and a second-half penalty kick from Edinson Cavani.
Four days later, PSG lined up against Benfica in the group stages of the Champions League and cruised to a 3-0 win behind a brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a third tally by Marquinhos.
"In the analysis, in terms of the statistics, you can say that this was our best performance of the season," PSG manager Laurent Blanc said of his team's victory. "The best thing about the match was that from the first to the 90th minute, Paris had total control. That's exactly what we ask of the players. It was a very good evening for us."
"We have two wins from two matches and we are already in a position to qualify for the last 16, even if we still have some tough games to come in this group," Ibrahimovic added. "We played some very good football tonight, so it was a real pleasure to be out there on the pitch. I hope we keep this confidence for Sunday's game against Marseille."
Ibrahimovic's sentiment about confidence goes double for Marseille as the club comes into Sunday's marquee clash following a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Marseille fell behind after just 18 minutes against Dortmund when Robert Lewandowski scored and Marco Reus made it 2-0 with a goal in the 52nd minute before Lewandowski completed his brace with a penalty kick 10 minutes from time.
Despite the loss in Champions League, Marseille enters the match in fine league form riding a four-match unbeaten streak and will look to deal PSG its first loss of the campaign.
Elsewhere in France on Sunday, Montpellier welcomes Lyon to the Stade de la Mosson, while Bordeaux battles Sochaux at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.
On Saturday, Monaco will put its unbeaten mark on the line when the principality club hosts St Etienne at the Stade Louis II, while Guingamp hosts Rennes.
Lille welcomes Ajaccio to the Grand Stade Lille Metropole, Nantes battles Evian, Toulouse hosts Nice and Valenciennes battles Reims at the Stade du Hainaut.
On Friday, Bastia cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory over 10-man Lorient at the Stade Armand-Cesari.
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