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Marseille Look for Way Out of Crisis Against Bitter Rivals Lyon 

Marseille's Italian newly head coach Habib Beye looks on during the French L1 football match between Stade Brestois 29 and Olympique de Marseille at Francis-Le Ble stadium in Brest on February 20, 2026. (AFP)
Marseille's Italian newly head coach Habib Beye looks on during the French L1 football match between Stade Brestois 29 and Olympique de Marseille at Francis-Le Ble stadium in Brest on February 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Marseille Look for Way Out of Crisis Against Bitter Rivals Lyon 

Marseille's Italian newly head coach Habib Beye looks on during the French L1 football match between Stade Brestois 29 and Olympique de Marseille at Francis-Le Ble stadium in Brest on February 20, 2026. (AFP)
Marseille's Italian newly head coach Habib Beye looks on during the French L1 football match between Stade Brestois 29 and Olympique de Marseille at Francis-Le Ble stadium in Brest on February 20, 2026. (AFP)

Away from Paris Saint-Germain's quest to hold off Lens and retain the Ligue 1 title, Marseille and Lyon are fighting it out for France's last automatic Champions League qualifying berth and face off in a huge game on Sunday.

PSG's crushing dominance of French football, with 11 league titles won in the last 13 seasons, means the biggest rivalry in Ligue 1 these days is arguably that between the clubs from the country's second and third-largest cities.

Marseille have not been champions since 2010 while Lyon won the last of their seven straight titles in 2008.

Often these days getting into the Champions League is as good as it can get for the clubs, and even if Lyon have not featured in Europe's elite competition since reaching the semi-finals in 2020.

However, OL are on course to qualify this season, with a recent seven-match winning run in the league propelling them above crisis-hit Marseille into third.

Only the top three in Ligue 1 qualify directly for the league phase of the Champions League, with the team in fourth having to go through two qualifying rounds.

Lyon, who had won 13 games in a row in all competitions before a 3-1 loss in Strasbourg last weekend, are currently five points better off than fourth-placed Marseille before travelling to face their rivals at the Velodrome on Sunday.

"It is no big drama, we just have to accept it," said Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca after last week's game.

"We are not going to win every game we play until the end of the season. We are not a super-team," added the 52-year-old from Portugal, whose first game in charge of Lyon was a 3-2 defeat in Marseille a year ago.

If he is relaxed right now, the same cannot be said of anyone at Marseille, who have not won any of their four Ligue 1 games played since being knocked out of the Champions League at the end of the league phase in late January.

Roberto De Zerbi's spell as coach ended after a 5-0 hammering by PSG on February 8, and his replacement Habib Beye's debut last weekend ended in a 2-0 loss at Brest.

Marseille have collected just eight points from seven league matches in 2026 and must turn that around as failure to return to the Champions League would have a huge impact on their finances.

"There is an understandable loss of confidence with the negative dynamic at the moment. It's getting to the players," said Beye before taking his squad off to Spain for a training camp in Marbella this week.

Player to watch: Esteban Lepaul

The Rennes striker's brilliant strike in a 3-0 victory at Auxerre last weekend was his third goal in three games and helped Franck Haise get off to a winning start in his first match as coach of the Brittany side.

Lepaul, 25, has now scored 12 goals in Ligue 1 this season including one for Angers before he joined Rennes in a reported 15 million-euro ($17.7m) transfer in late August.

Only Marseille's Mason Greenwood (14) and Strasbourg's Joaquin Panichelli (13) have scored more in Ligue 1 this season than Lepaul, a former Lyon academy player whose father Fabrice won the league with Auxerre in 1996 before dying in a road accident in 2020.

Key stats

3 - Marseille have won their last three home meetings with Lyon, and have lost just one of their last six.

6 - Just six points separate five teams in the fight for European qualification, from Marseille in fourth to Monaco in eighth.

9 - Former PSG coach Antoine Kombouare will take charge of Paris FC for the first time when they entertain Nice. They are the ninth club he has managed in the top flight of French football.

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Sports

Liverpool Playmaker Florian Wirtz Still Sidelined with Back Injury

Liverpool's Florian Wirtz controls the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Newcastle in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Florian Wirtz controls the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Newcastle in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
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Liverpool Playmaker Florian Wirtz Still Sidelined with Back Injury

Liverpool's Florian Wirtz controls the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Newcastle in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Liverpool's Florian Wirtz controls the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Newcastle in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz will miss Saturday's game against West Ham because of a lingering back injury, and manager Arne Slot said there's no timetable for the Germany playmaker's return.

Wirtz had been pulled from the lineup before last week's Premier League game at Nottingham Forest after experiencing back pain during the warm-up.

“I don't expect Florian to be available. That’s a disappointment, of course,” Slot said Friday at a press conference. “Every time when a player is not available, it’s a disappointment, and also something that I didn’t expect after last week.”

At the time of the injury, Slot had said: “We don’t think it’s very serious.”

The Dutch manager was asked Friday if he knows how long Wirtz will be out, The Associated Press reported.

“At this moment in time no, and usually when I say that I do know that, but I don’t want to share it,” Slot said. “But now, I honestly don’t know.”

Frimpong is back Netherlands right-back Jeremie Frimpong has trained with the team this week, “so he is available” against West Ham, Slot said.

Frimpong, who has dealt with several injuries in his first season at Anfield, has missed the past month with a muscle injury.

Sports

Arsenal Face Chelsea Title Test, Troubled Spurs in Spotlight 

Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal (C) celebrates scoring the 1-4 goal during the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC, in London, Britain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)
Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal (C) celebrates scoring the 1-4 goal during the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC, in London, Britain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)
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Arsenal Face Chelsea Title Test, Troubled Spurs in Spotlight 

Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal (C) celebrates scoring the 1-4 goal during the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC, in London, Britain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)
Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal (C) celebrates scoring the 1-4 goal during the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC, in London, Britain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)

Premier League leaders Arsenal face a title test from London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Manchester City can keep the pressure on Arsenal with a win at Leeds, while troubled Tottenham cannot afford another damaging defeat.

AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend's action:

Players meeting sparked Arsenal revival

Arsenal revitalized their flagging title bid thanks to a meeting between the players prior to their vital 4-1 win at Tottenham on Sunday.

Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze both scored twice in a north London derby rout that came just four days after Arsenal were stunned by a 2-2 draw at bottom of the table Wolves.

The dropped points at Molineux led to questions about Arsenal's ability to cope with the title tension and Mikel Arteta's squad responded by thrashing out their issues in crunch talks.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said the players spoke to each other in a "firm" way, leading to a cathartic victory at Tottenham that reestablished a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City.

"It's important sometimes just to say what you feel and to let it all out in the group," Gyokeres said ahead of Chelsea's visit to the Emirates Stadium.

"Most of us spoke. Everyone can recognize how different people feel in the moment and you get a better understanding of the feeling.

"If you're not honest, I think it's hard to improve. It was a good chat and now we're going to prepare for a big game against Chelsea."

Defiant Man City vow to keep fighting

Pep Guardiola has warned Arsenal that Manchester City will "never give up" as they chase the seventh Premier League title of his glittering reign.

Guardiola's side won 2-1 against Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium last weekend to keep the destiny of the title in their hands.

Although Arsenal are five points ahead, City have a game in hand and host the Gunners in April.

If City win their last 11 matches they guaranteed to win the title no matter what Arsenal do in their remaining 10 games.

"When I was at Spurs and we drew 2-2 someone said why don't we drop the Premier League and focus on the cups. I said, 'No, why? Let's go, let's try'," Guardiola said before City's trip to Leeds on Saturday.

"Many things are going to happen. Never give up. Ten or 11 games is a lot of games in the Premier League."

Tudor adamant Spurs can survive

Facing the grim prospect of crashing into the second tier for the first time since 1977-78, Tottenham desperately need to slow their plunge towards the Championship by winning at Fulham on Sunday.

Igor Tudor's first game as interim boss ended in a chastening 4-1 defeat against arch-rivals Arsenal, leaving Tottenham perilously poised just four points above the relegation zone.

Tottenham have 11 games to save themselves from humiliation, but Tudor is hampered by a lengthy injury list and a confidence crisis triggered by the team's nine-match winless run.

"Of course there is enough time (to survive)," Tudor said.

"Stay humble, that is the key for each of us. Try to become what I said before: a hard-working team. That is the only goal we have now in this moment."

Sports

Barca Strikers Firing Blanks as Villarreal Visit 

FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski gestures during the Spanish La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Levante UD in Barcelona, Spain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)
FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski gestures during the Spanish La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Levante UD in Barcelona, Spain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)
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Barca Strikers Firing Blanks as Villarreal Visit 

FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski gestures during the Spanish La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Levante UD in Barcelona, Spain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)
FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski gestures during the Spanish La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Levante UD in Barcelona, Spain, 22 February 2026. (EPA)

Barcelona host high-flying Villarreal on Saturday aiming to tighten their grip on pole position in La Liga amid concerns about the form of strikers Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.

Coach Hansi Flick has rotated between the veteran Pole and the Spaniard this season to lead the attack, but neither has fully convinced.

Former Bayern Munich great Lewandowski, 37, has declined rapidly this season as well as enduring some fitness issues, while Torres, 25, is on course for a personal record for goals, but most of them came in a purple patch towards the end of last year.

The Catalan giants have obvious problems in defense, as opponents exploit their high line with growing regularity, but last season managed to score enough goals to outweigh their deficiencies in that area as they lifted a domestic treble.

Wingers Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are among the best in the world in their positions but whichever option Flick places between them has struggled in 2026.

Torres has just three goals in his last 15 appearances across all competitions, and his all-round game is lacking, unable to contribute effectively as Barca build up attacks, frequently losing the ball.

Lewandowski has five goals in his last 18 games, but seems less mobile than before and a peripheral presence at times.

"With so many matches rotation at striker is natural, and I think Ferran and I can benefit from the current situation," Lewandowski told Polish magazine Pilka Nozna this week.

"When you play 90 minutes every three days your whole life is about recovery, now the balance is a little better. I'm tired but I'm not worn out."

Barca still lead La Liga for goals scored, with 67, but they are coming from everywhere -- 10 different players have scored two or more, and nobody has more than Torres on 12.

By contrast to Barca's center-forwards, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, despite struggling with a long-running knee problem, leads the scoring charts in Spain with 23 and the Champions League with 13.

"Mbappe is the best striker in the world," admitted Flick in January. "He has scored many, many goals and is a world-class player."

Flick's side lead La Liga by a point ahead of Villarreal's visit. A point behind Madrid host Getafe on Monday.

The German coach has not used England international Marcus Rashford much in that position, with the Manchester United loanee more keen on operating from the left.

However with Raphinha fit and firing after an injury absence, Rashford might change his mind and view playing as a number nine as his best chance of more minutes.

Rashford has been effective for Barca this season, albeit as much in providing assists rather than scoring, laying on 13 goals for his team-mates while netting 10 himself in 34 games across all competitions.

With some rest while other sides take part in the Champions League play-off round, Flick hopes a relatively quiet fortnight will do his team a world of good.

"It's important that we have these two weeks, to rest a little bit but also focus on the next match against Villarreal, that will also be a tough match," said Flick.

"After that hopefully every three or four days we have a match, so it's important to have these two weeks."

Villarreal trail leaders Barca by 10 points, and although their hopes of competing for the title have dwindled, they could be rekindled with a surprise victory at Camp Nou.