Will the crisis get even bigger for Marseille?

Even by Marseille's stormy standards, the week has been extraordinary for the club. Extraordinarily damaging. On paper, Marseille are unbeaten in the Ligue 1, two points off the top of the standings, one point above PSG, and about to launch a Europa League campaign.

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In reality, coach Marcelino has walked out after just seven games alleging that he received “severe threats, insults, and slander, intimidation and individual attacks” from supporters. Four members of the board, including club president, Pablo Longoria, reportedly offered their resignations, with the Spanish head honcho claiming that it was "impossible to work." 

Everything unravelled at the club on Monday with an apparently heated meeting between ultras and club staff,  a group which included Longoria. Accusations were made of corruption over transfers and complaints over a conservative style of play under Marcelino, which resulted in a goalless draw the previous day against Toulouse. It was oil on an alreadysmoldering fire. “It started with insinuations and progressed to threats,” claims Longoria.

The good news is that Marseille's next Ligue 1 match is away from home, at least. The bad news is that it is against PSG. The tension will be notched up even higher with a poor display in the Parc des Princes.

Will Aubameyang start scoring?

If there is one player who has 'been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" about Marseille's warring week, it's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. "We're in one hell of a storm" admitted the Gabonese striker ahead of Thursday's Europa League match at Ajax. The former Chelsea man left Stamford Bridge after a tumultuous year that saw an exile from the squad and two coaches, but has walked out of the frying pan into the furnace in the south of France.

Matters haven't been helped by Aubameyang's goal tally in Ligue 1: no goals in five appearances. It's not for want of trying. The 34-year-old has attempted 19 shots on goal, just one less than Kylian Mbappe who has scored seven. This is not ideal for Marseille as the club did not pick up the contracts of Alexis Sanchez or Dimitri Payet over the summer. Record signing, Vitinha, has yet to ignite any excitement in the fans with just four goals in 21 league appearances. Aubameyang scoring his maiden Marseille goal against PSG on Sunday would be as good a place to start as any. 

Will PSG's Three Musketeers begin to click?

Although Kylian Mbappe gets a little touchy over the idea that he is the club's unofficial sporting director, let's look at the summer's key transfer dealings for the team. Lionel Messi and Neymar left the team, to be replaced with two French international teammates and friends of Mbappe in Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani. If Mbappe were to have had an influence in the decision, then Mbappe has a strong instinct as these are the moves that could not only produce on the pitch, but also placate fans unhappy at the Galactico phase of PSG of yesteryear.

With Hugo Ekitike still in the squad and the signing of rising star, Bradley Barcola, PSG can field five French forwards in a single game with a couple of substitutes. The very Portuguese striker, Goncalo Ramos, who has still to score for PSG might be wondering what he has gotten himself into. 

Have PSG found a diamond in midfield?

When Marco Verratti bid farewell to the PSG fans ahead of the club's eventual defeat to Nice, it was probably the right time for the Italian to bow out. A reputation for being injury-prone and not quite being in tip-top physical condition due to an active lifestyle was starting to become an issue. This sees time and space for a new midfield trio to develop formed by rising star, Warren Zaire-Emery, who is now a fixture at the age of 17. Playmaker, Vitinha, is reborn after a rough first year at PSG. However, the sensation of the season looks like being Manuel Ugarte who fits all the positive stereotypes of a Uruguayan midfielder: tough tackling and industrious, something missing from PSG over the previous two seasons.