Sunday night at the Vélodrome will bring the noise, the tension and, for Paris Saint-Germain, a fixture Luis Enrique refuses to treat as predictable. PSG travel to Marseille for the fifth round of Ligue 1, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45, facing an OM side shaken by four consecutive defeats in all competitions.
Despite Marseille’s difficult run and Paris’s apparent advantage on paper, Luis Enrique dismissed any suggestion that his team should consider themselves clear favourites for Le Classique. The Spaniard, who has worked in Ligue 1 since arriving at PSG in 2023, stressed that matches of this scale have their own logic.
“There are no favourites in football, especially in a Classique,” he said. “We are used to seeing teams labelled favourites lose. This is a very important match for us and we need the three points. We are focused on how to improve. Everything around the game does not interest me.”
PSG expect a different Marseille from the one they have been able to study in recent weeks. Luis Enrique noted that OM have appointed a new coach in Bruno Genesio, while several players have also left the club, making it harder to predict the home side’s shape and approach.
“They have changed coach and many players have departed, so it is difficult to know exactly what to expect,” he explained. “We have to be ready regardless of the line-up and their behaviour on the pitch. What is certain is the atmosphere in the Classique and how difficult these matches are to play. There are many things we cannot control.”
For all the uncertainty, the PSG coach accepted the attraction of one of French football’s defining rivalries. “These are very appealing matches for the supporters and for us as a team,” he said. “We will try to take the three points.”
Asked whether he had a message for Genesio before the match, Luis Enrique initially praised the Marseille coach, describing him as a recognised manager of high quality. He then caught himself, smiling at the idea of wishing well to the man in charge of PSG’s historic rival.
“Why should I send him a message?” he said. “He is a great coach, everybody knows that, and he has a high level. I am focused on what matters to me. I wish him the best after the PSG match. No, I cannot say that because he is Marseille’s coach. I take it back. Sorry, I cannot wish Marseille’s coach very good luck. I can wish Bruno Genesio well in the future.”
By Sunday evening, courtesy will give way to a Vélodrome contest PSG see as too volatile for complacency, regardless of Marseille’s current struggles.
