Leader Marseille faces Lens in a clash of Ligue 1's top defenses

PARIS (AP) — French league leader Marseille travels to fourth-placed Lens on Saturday for a matchup between two sides combining defensive solidity with attacking flair.

Chasing a first Ligue 1 title since 2010, nine-time champion Marseille has delivered a strong start to the season and boasts the league’s best attack and defense — 21 goals scored and just seven conceded.

Lens, meanwhile, shares the league’s best defensive record. It has scored fewer goals than Marseille (12), but the addition this summer of 2018 World Cup winner Florian Thauvin and Odsonne Édouard have significantly strengthened Pierre Sage’s attacking options. The former Lyon coach will manage his 50th Ligue 1 match against Marseille.

Marseille heads north after seeing its five-game winning streak in all competitions snapped midweek with a 2-1 Champions League defeat at Sporting.

Key matchups

Following years of Paris Saint-Germain dominance, this season has been as tight as it gets. After eight rounds, just four points separate Marseille from seventh-placed Monaco.

PSG, which demolished Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in midweek Champions League action, remains the heavy favorite to retain its title despite trailing Marseille by one point.

Returning from injury, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé scored against the German side and is expected to be back on the domestic stage when PSG visits 12th-placed Brest on Saturday.

Third-placed Strasbourg plays at Lyon on Sunday and Lille hosts bottom club Metz.

Players to watch

PSG midfielder Senny Mayulu, who came off the bench to score his team’s final goal in the Champions League final, shows no signs of slowing down.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who broke into the first team during the 2023–2024 campaign, has continued to grow in influence this season, starting all three of PSG’s Champions League matches.

Despite a minor thigh injury earlier this month that kept him from joining the France Under-21 squad, Mayulu was decisive last week, rescuing a 3-3 draw for PSG against Strasbourg.

Out of action

Sent off for the second time this season during Metz’s 4–0 defeat to Toulouse, Sadibou Sané has been handed a three-match suspension by the league’s disciplinary commission for a dangerous challenge on Cristian Cásseres.

The Metz defender had already been banned for three matches following his straight red card against Paris FC in August.

Off the field

Lille president Olivier Létang has been handed a one-match suspension and a further two suspended matches by the disciplinary commission for his remarks against referees.

After Lille’s 1–0 defeat to Lyon last month, Letang said there was a deep-rooted problem with refereeing in France. “Every weekend, in almost every match, there are problems. And the issue is that there’s no dialogue. The people at the head of the French Football Federation don’t have the skills to manage what’s needed,” he said.

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