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A possibly season-defining week awaits Messi and PSG

February 07, 2023 / 10:08 AM
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Sharjah24 - AFP: With a Champions League matchup against Bayern Munich coming up, Paris Saint-next Germain's seven days, beginning on Wednesday with a trip to arch rivals Marseille for the French Cup, might define this season.
The Bundesliga giants visit the French capital for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie next Tuesday, but there will be no easy build-up to that game for PSG.

Marseille await them in the bear pit of the Velodrome for a French Cup last-16 tie as the Parisians aim to reclaim a trophy they missed out on last season after winning it six times in the previous seven years.

Then they go to in-form Monaco on Saturday. A match that could be one of the biggest obstacles remaining to their title bid in Ligue 1. They are eight points clear of nearest rivals Marseille and Lens at the top of the table.

PSG have an excellent Cup record against Marseille, winning 10 of the 11 past encounters between the clubs, including two finals in the last two decades.

Yet while Marseille will have a hostile crowd in their favour with 65,000 fans behind them on Wednesday, PSG's domestic superiority has been questioned in recent weeks.

Christophe Galtier's team won just one of their first four league matches in 2023 before getting the better of Montpellier and Toulouse in recent days.

They needed a fine Lionel Messi strike to win 2-1 against the latter on Saturday after losing Kylian Mbappe to a thigh injury that will keep him out of the Bayern first leg too.

Mbappe has risen above Messi and Neymar to become comfortably PSG's most important player. His absence at such a key stage of the season is a hammer blow.

Marco Verratti's return from suspension will at least provide a huge boost in midfield, but PSG's defence has also appeared vulnerable of late and a Marseille attack led by Alexis Sanchez could exploit their weaknesses.
February 07, 2023 / 10:08 AM

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