Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
There will be fireworks when Olympique Marseille and PSG lock horns at Stade Velodrome in Le Classique. OM rolled over Montpellier 5-0 at the weekend, meaning that they are brimming with confidence ahead of Sunday’s derby. Bearing any fresh injury worries, boss Roberto De Zerbi is unlikely to make changes to the team that crushed La Paillade at the weekend. Even though Neal Maupay is back from suspension, the former Brighton striker should start off the bench.
Les Parisiens, on the other hand, are leading the chase for the Ligue 1 trophy. As Luis Enrique’s men looked sharp in front of goal in a 4-2 win over Strasbourg, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score. Defender Presnel Kimpembe should be the only absentee in the away team, while Portugal midfielder Vitinha returns to the starting XI after coming as a substitute in the Champions League draw with PSV.
Highlighted Player (Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg):
Born in Copenhagen, on the 5th of August, 1995, Hojbjerg has been playing football since the age of five. The Danish International spent his youth career playing for clubs BK Skjold, F.C. Copenhagen and Brondby IF. In 2012, he moved to Germany to sign his first professional contract with Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich.
After spending his first year playing for the Munich reserves, the midfielder made his maiden professional appearance the following season, in a Bundesliga game against FC Nurnberg on the 13th of April. Hojbjerg's next spell came at FC Augsburg, who signed him on a six-month loan from the Bavarians in January 2015. The same year, he scored his first-ever professional goal that came in a 2-1 away loss to Paderborn 07 on the 11th of April. The following season, he was loaned out again, this time to Schalke 04 for a whole season.
In a move that would mark the end of his stint in German Football, Hojbjerg joined Premier league club Southampton in 2016 on a transfer worth 13 million euros. He's currently on a five-year contract with the Saints. At the International level, the 24-year-old represented Denmark at every iteration of the youth level before making his senior debut on the 28th of May, 2014, in a friendly against Sweden.
Highlighted Team (PSG):
Formed by the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain in 1970, Paris Saint-Germain or as they call it PSG is the most successful club in French football with 31 domestic titles to their name. Having won six Ligue 1 title so far, a record ten Coupes de France, a record six Coupes de la Ligue, six Trophees des Champions and one Ligue 2 title, PSG are also one of only two French clubs to ever win a European title.
Les Parisiens were crowned UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup champions back in 1995-96, while their last European trophy was the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Beginning of the new millennium was particularly hard for the celebrated club who flirted with relegation in 2000s before they were bought by the Quatar Sports Investments group in 2011 when the rebirth of the Paris Saint-Germain as we know it today began.
Following heavy squad investments and team boosting, PSG won their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years with Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic almost singlehandedly leading his side towards the trophy with 30 goals. Having established domestic dominance, PSG now set their sights on winning the Champions League which remains an elusive dream for the club from Paris.