MATCH! 4 October 2022

LE CLASSIQUE PSG v MARSEILLE The two most successful Ligue 1 teams are also the only French teams to have won major European trophies! Marseille supporters still brag about being the only French side to win the Champions League, but they’ve been second best behind PSG in the league for quite some time. In fact, they’ve only beaten PSG once in their last 25 head-to-heads in all comps! I’M SUPPORTING… DER KLASSIKER B. DORTMUND v BAYERN MUNICH People always talk about Bundesliga being a two-way battle between Bayern and Dortmund, but let’s be honest – it’s been super one-sided for the last decade! Bayern’s title success in 2021-22 was their tenth successive league victory, finishing eight points ahead of Dortmund. Bayern have won their last eight head-to-heads, scoring at least…

BEST PREM XI! Of the 23 top-rated Premier League players, Man. City boasted the most with eight ballers! Liverpool (6), Chelsea(3), Tottenham (3) and Man. United (3) were the other four teams represented, while Arsenal surprisingly didn’t have a single star rated above 84! THE BEST-RATED BALLERS ON FIFA 23! For the fifth year in a row, Lionel Messi has received the highest rated card on the game – but this year four others join him! Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne and Kylian Mbappe also received a 91 OVR, while the 90-rated Cristiano Ronaldo received a brutal-6 Pace downgrade! TOP THREE LION! Yet again, England captain Harry Kane is rated as the best England player on the game, although he hasn’t managed to keep hold his 90-rated card…

NEW VOTING RULES! France Football announced back in March that the rules for voting have changed, with the award based on performances over a single season (2021-22) rather than a calendar year. Also, winning trophies is now less important, so the prize should reflect the best footballers from each season, rather than simply who lifts the most silverware! OTHER AWARD winners! The Yashin Trophy for the best keeper is clearly a two-way battle between Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and AC’s Mike Maignan – they’re the only two GKs who made the Ballon d’Or shortlist! The Kopa Trophy winner for the best young player is harder to call, with Jude Bellingham the current fave ahead of Eduardo Camavinga, Gavi, Florian Wirtz and Bukayo Saka! BALLON D’OR WINNER! YOU SAY… BALLON D’OR…

Smiggle Score Bundle! CLOSING DATE: NOV. 4 The brilliant bundle includes a classic backpack, drinks bottle, hardtop lunchbox and a hardtop pencil case! It’s your lucky month, because we’ve got this wicked Smiggle bundle to give away to one MATCH reader! Check out all of the awesome Smiggle gear on their website now at smiggle.co.uk HOW TO ENTER! WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full Terms & Conditions are available online.…

MARSEILLE LIGUE 1 STORY SO FAR… They won six and drew two of the first eight league matches! They conceded just five goals in those first eight games! They’ve struggled in the CL though with 0 points from two games! STAT ATTACK! Marseille’s 19 points after seven Ligue 1 games was their highest tally in history at that stage of the comp! STAR MAN NUNO TAVARES He became the second defender to score at least three goals in his first four Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille in the last 75 seasons! STRONGEST XI BORUSSIA DORTMUND BUNDESLIGA STORY SO FAR… They went into the break two points off the top of the table! They were unlucky to not get anything v Man. City in the CL! They beat big rivals Schalke…

RULE 1 You must have at least two goalkeepers in your PL squad! RULE 2 You can’t have more than three players from the same side 1 THE SHORTLIST Alisson, Liverpool David De Gea, Man. United Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Jordan Pickford, Everton Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal OTHER: Write on your voting form! 2 THE SHORTLIST Matty Cash, Aston Villa Tariq Lamptey, Brighton Kieran Trippier, Newcastle Kyle Walker, Man. City Kyle Walker-Peters, Southampton OTHER: Write on your voting form! 3 THE SHORTLIST Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves Ruben Dias, Man. City Fabinho, Liverpool Rico Henry, Brentford Nathan Patterson, Everton OTHER: Write on your voting form! 4 THE SHORTLIST Sven Botman, New castle Nathan Collins, Wolves Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool Ben White, Arsenal Joe Worrall, Nott’m Forest OTHER: Write on your voting form! 5 THE SHORTLIST Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tottenham Jorginho, Chelsea Lloyd Kelly, Bournemouth Tyrone Mings, Aston Villa John Stones, Man. City OTHER: Write on your voting form! 6 THE SHORTLIST Jonny Evans, Leicester Gabriel, Arsenal Marc…