PSG without Dani Alves against Marseille

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain will have to do without Dani Alves for Sunday’s Ligue 1 encounter with eternal rivals Marseille, the club announced.

PSG said that Alves was currently undergoing “treatment” without specifying the extent of the problem, and so the Belgian international Thomas Meunier is likely to start Sunday night’s match at the Velodrome at right-back.

Alves’ fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva is back in the PSG squad after missing the 4-0 midweek win at Anderlecht in the Champions League and could start as Unai Emery’s side aim to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Meetings of Marseille and PSG, labelled ‘Le Classique’ or ‘Le Classico’, are the biggest grudge matches in French football.

However, PSG have been utterly dominant in meetings with the southern side since their Qatari takeover in 2011 and have not lost at the Velodrome since November of that year.

Marseille came into the weekend in fourth place in the Ligue 1 table, eight points behind Paris, who are top.