Le Classique returns to the Vélodrome this Sunday. It's matchday 5 of 34, the first meeting between the two sides this season, and it comes early enough that neither club has fully shown its hand. PSG have won just once in their opening four league games. It's been a sluggish, stuttering start for them. They opened with consecutive draws against Rennes and Lille, dropped points in a narrow defeat to Monaco, and only just secured their first league win last weekend against Brest. For a squad carrying a record ten Ballon d'Or nominees, including new arrival Ferran Torres, and chasing a third straight Champions League title on top of it all, this isn't the standard the champions expect. Yet their 6-1 demolition of Slovan Bratislava in the UCL proved the quality is still there. It's simply been rationed. Marseille are in a much tougher position, and their issues go far beyond recent results. Bruno Genesio took over as manager in July following Habib Beye's exit, immediately walking into a complicated situation. The club had sold almost its entire starting XI over the summer amid a financial crisis, and didn't bring in a single replacement to soften the blow. They opened the season with an impressive 4-0 win against Strasbourg, but reality hit fast with three straight losses to Monaco, Paris FC, and Rennes. On top of that, a midweek European flight to Istanbul leaves them just three days to recover before this one. If either club has a reason to be confident on Sunday, it comes down to the individual forwards leading the line. Ferran Torres has needed zero time to settle in Paris, a debut brace against Rennes followed by a decisive goal against Brest have made him PSG's top scorer already. Amine Gouiri's doing the exact same job for Marseille, four goals in four matches, level for the Ligue 1 golden boot, despite his side losing three of those games. The recent history of this fixture has swung both ways. PSG dominated the five meetings before last September, outscoring Marseille 15-1. Marseille then broke that run with a gritty 1-0 win on this exact pitch. Five months later, PSG responded with a flat-out 5-0 win in Paris. Neither side walks in with much certainty. Then again, Le Classique never really allows for any.