Rabiot’s history is likely to make him a target in this game. Was an unpopular figure at PSG as a youngster due to his supposed arrogance and departed the club on a free transfer to Juventus. Now returning to French football, he declared himself a lifelong OM fan – the major rivals of PSG – putting a bullseye on his back for this game.

Although he has barely played for OM, De Zerbi changed his shape last week to a 4-3-3 system to better accommodate Rabiot, who subsequently played the full 90 minutes of the victory over Montpellier, partly as a fitness-building exercise.

Has already been fouled twice in the 145 Ligue 1 minutes he has played since returning to France.

Across his last three seasons with Juventus in Serie A, he picked up 1.1 fouls per 90 or more.

Hakimi only has nine shots for the season in Ligue 1, but is posting them at a rate of 1.53 per 90 and is doing so at an increasing rate. He has been very active offensively for PSG in recent matches across all competitions.

He has managed at least two shots in his last six matches for PSG and in seven of his last eight outings, underpinning his importance to the offensive line.

Was particularly active during the midweek match against PSV, offering four shots and scoring the equalising goal for PSG in a 1-1 draw.

Marseille have selection problems down their left side. There are doubts over left-backs Quentin Merlin, who has not played for several weeks due to injury, and Ulisses Garcia, who has been filling it. Hakimi will fancy his chances against even a half-fit direct opponent.

Dembele is taking a huge number of shots this season and is tied with Bradley Barcola with 24 efforts, 13 of which have found the target. The former Barcelona man, though, is posting a considerable better per 90 rate, with 5.0 shots and 2.71 on target.

Although he has a reputation for being a poor finisher, Dembele has hit the target at least once in every PSG match he has played this season across all competitions, with the exception of the 6-0 win against Montpellier in August. He is currently on a six-match streak of hitting the target for his club side.

Was not used at all last weekend but in his last two active matches, he has 11 shots plus four on target.

Managed a shot on target in the early season match against Marseille but a first-half red card to PSG in the Velodrome last season lessened his impact in that game and he failed to hit the target with either of his two efforts.

Both PSG and Marseille have a habit of being involved in matches in which there are significant corner counts, which has been played out in their recent fixtures. Four of PSG’s last five have hit double figures in corners, while three of Marseille’s last four have done likewise.

Majority of the corners are liable to go to PSG, with the visitors having won at least five in each of their last five matches in all competitions. Les Parisiens lead Ligue 1 in winning these situations this season with an average of 7.38. Underlining their capabilities of winning corners is the fact that they won 14 against PSV in midweek.

PSG are good at winning corners even against teams that do not typically concede many. For example, Nice have only given up 44 corners in eight matches, but PSG account for 15 of those.

Le Classique is one of the fieriest matches historically on the Ligue 1 calendar and will be a particularly big affair this time around given it will be played in the cauldron of the Velodrome, while OM are rivalling the champions at the top of the table. PSG being under pressure after a relatively poor spell adds further spice to the occasion.

Last season, PSG saw four yellow cards and one red in Marseille.

Marseille are averaging 2.88 cards received per match this season but are drawing 2.63 from their opponents. Four of Marseille’s last five games have seen at least five cards dished out, with two of these even hitting nine.

Match will be overseen by Francois Letexier, who has the reputation of being one of the more restrained Ligue 1 officials yet has gone against that to some degree this season. He has shown at least five cards in four of the six matches he has overseen, plus four in another game.

These teams might be fighting in close proximity in the real league table, but in the disciplinary standings, they could scarcely be further apart. Marseille have received 23 cards this season – the second highest figure in the league – while PSG have only been given 11, which is by some distance the lowest figure.
Unsurprisingly, PSG are rarely found to be picking up more cards than their rivals. Across their last five matches in all competitions, they have only once received more cards.

Marseille are the polar opposite of this. Roberto De Zerbi’s side have received 21 cards in their last five Ligue 1 matches. During this run, they have received more cards than their opponents on four occasions.

Referee Francois Letexier averages 1.53 cards show to PSG per game he has overseen, whereas when he has officiated Marseille, he has shown an average of 2.12 cards to OM players.