PSG have lorded over all of France for more than a decade, transformed since the Qatari takeover of the capital club in 2011.

But the gap between them and the rest has become particularly pronounced in recent months as Luis Enrique's PSG prove irresistible at home and impress in Europe too.

This week's Champions League last 16 victory over Liverpool may only have been achieved on penalties, but PSG showed remarkable mental strength to win the kind of tie they would surely have lost in previous seasons.

They are now preparing for a quarter-final tie next month against Aston Villa, as they cruise towards another Ligue 1 title.

The Parisians are unbeaten domestically since last May and hold an enormous 16-point lead over second-placed Marseille at the top of the table.

Win this weekend and PSG will extend that lead to 19 points, opening up the possibility that they could be crowned champions before March is out.

Marseille, who lost 3-0 at home to PSG in October, may never seriously have entertained the possibility of winning the title this season, as they focus on finishing as the best of the rest and returning to the Champions League.

Winners of the Champions League in 1993, Marseille are not in Europe at all in this campaign.

They have been excellent for much of the season under Roberto De Zerbi, helped by the goals of Mason Greenwood and the influence in midfield of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Adrien Rabiot.

If anyone can compete with PSG over the long term, it should be them -- Marseille's revenue last season was 287 million euros, according to analysts Deloitte, the highest in France behind PSG's enormous 806 million euros.

But as a club they have too often been wrought with instability, and De Zerbi's task has not been helped in recent weeks by the focus on comments made by club president Pablo Longoria.

He hit out at the referee after a defeat against Auxerre, wielding accusations of "corruption", and was handed a 15-match ban.

Marseille have lost two of their last three games, raising the threat that they could yet be caught by teams below them and possibly miss out on Champions League qualification.

That would be disastrous, but the chances of them beating PSG away on Sunday appear slim, especially with Hojbjerg injured.

PSG have lost just once to Marseille in 25 meetings in Ligue 1 since 2011.

"We need to stick together and maintain confidence in ourselves to prepare for Paris and the other matches we have to come," De Zerbi said last weekend.

"We are going to have to roll up our sleeves and fight until the end to fulfil our objective."

Player to watch: Desire Doue

PSG's breakthrough star Doue, who does not turn 20 until June, has enjoyed quite a week.

The teenager was outstanding off the bench in the second leg of PSG's Champions League last-16 tie against Liverpool on Tuesday before scoring the winning kick in the penalty shoot-out.

On Thursday he was handed a first call-up to the France squad for the upcoming Nations League quarter-final against Croatia.

Signed from Rennes in August for a reported 50 million euros ($54.1m), Doue has scored or set up 17 goals in 23 appearances since becoming a regular in PSG's side in mid-December.

Key stats

0 - Saint-Etienne have not won an away game all season before going to Montpellier for a meeting of the bottom two sides in the division

1 - Marseille have won just one of their last 25 meetings with PSG in Ligue 1

24- The number of goals scored by Ousmane Dembele in 19 appearances for PSG since mid-December

Fixtures (times GMT)

Friday

Nice v Auxerre (1945)

Saturday

Nantes v Lille (1600), Angers v Monaco (1800), Lens v Rennes (2005)

Sunday

Lyon v Le Havre (1400), Strasbourg v Toulouse, Brest v Reims, Montpellier v Saint-Etienne (all 1615), Paris Saint-Germain v Marseille (1945)

Which twenty-six Reds will we see?

A good bit has changed about the nature of the Cincinnati Reds roster mix since last we gave our best guess at who might be included on it come Opening Day.

Spencer Steer’s shoulder maintained its issues, and he received a cortisone shot back on March 1st. Andrew Abbott, though, has seen his shoulder progress well enough that he threw a pair of IP in a AAA game just yesterday. Rhett Lowder is still behind schedule, unfortunately, but at least it looks like he’s moving forward and not backwards. Speaking of ‘back,’ Tyler Stephenson headed for an MRI after lingering back pain.

Rule 5 draftee Cooper Bowman was sent back to the Oaksacvegas Athletics, while former top prospect Noelvi Marte was officially sent down to AAA.

That’s a lot to process, as are the risks of losing players in camp as non-roster invitees if they aren’t selected to start the season. Same goes for players with no options remaining, as they very well could be scooped up on waivers if not placed on the roster from day one.

With Opening Day now less that two weeks away (!!), here’s our latest, greatest estimate of which Reds will make up the Opening Day roster.

Catcher

I’ve got Tyler Stephenson (1) still on here alongside Jose Trevino (2), as all initial reports on Ty Steve’s back are that his issue is minor. It may mean we see more of Jose in the lineup early on, so far there’s nothing to suggest these aren’t the two backstops they’ll carry from day one.

Infielders (5)

Elly De La Cruz (3) and Matt McLain (4) are the cornerstones of this team, and they’ll form the middle infield. Christian Encarnacion-Strand (5) and Jeimer Candelario (6) seem to be locks in the corner rotation, while Santiago Espinal (7) has solidified his spot as the do-it-all infielder in reserve.

Gavin Lux

Gavin Lux (8)! He’ll see time at 3B, 2B, LF, and even at DH when the time is right. Since I’ve got Spencer Steer beginning the year on the IL, Lux’s versatility will help offset that usually created by having Steer on the roster for the time being.

Outfielders (5)

TJ Friedl (9) is back and healthy and poised to be the everyday CF and leadoff man all 4-WAR style once again. He’ll be flanked by Jake Fraley (10) and Austin Hays (11) most days, with Stuart Fairchild (12) a RHH option on days when Terry Francona wants to stack those up against southpaws. That brings us to Blake Dunn (13), whose RHH ability wins out in this mix over Will Benson since Lux, a LHH, is filling the ‘move anywhere when it’s time to switch’ role previously occupied by Steer, a RHH. In other words, I think Francona will choose to have one more righty bat around than another lefty.

Starting Rotation

Hunter Greene (14) will start on Opening Day, as well he should. He’ll be flanked in some order by each of Nick Martinez (15), Brady Singer (16), and Nick Lodolo (17) for sure at this point. Since the season is long as all heck, I just don’t think the Reds will rush back Andrew Abbott at anything less than ‘full stretched out,’ so I expect him to begin on the IL and miss a turn or two through the rotation - if anything, that may make him even more valuable down the stretch in August/September. I think the Reds carry Carson Spiers (18) as something of ‘starter on an expected bullpen day’ for the time being.

Bullpen

I don’t believe Graham Ashcraft (19) starts the year in the minors - rather, I think he’s carried as the piggyback guy for Spiers’ turn through the rotation with the expecation that he can fill-in for multiple IP when needed in a role akin to how Martinez began last year. Brent Suter (20), Sam Moll (21), and Taylor Rogers (22) form the LHP corps in the ‘pen, while Alexis Díaz (23) will resume his role as the closer. RHP options Emilio Pagán (24) and Scott Barlow (25) have guaranteed money on their deals, so they’ll be down there until they prove ten times they shouldn’t be, leaving one final spot that I’m expected to be filled by Tony Santillan (26) - he pitched well enough last year to deserve it and he’s out of options, so that’s a no-brainer.

Notes

Steer and Abbott are the two notable omissions here. Despite how dismal the Reds have begun seasons in recent memory (and how much that has folded any and all optimism entering those years immediately), I just think they’ll play it safe with them (and Lowder). Abbott getting ~27-28 starts is still very much viable, as is Steer surpassing 550 PA.

Ian Gibaut being back in camp is cool, and he’s fanned 8 against a lone walk in 7.0 IP so far this spring. He’s not on the roster, however, as a NRI on a minor league deal, so I don’t expect him to beat out the rest of the options above. That said, I do think he’s showing enough right now to firmly be in the mix as the first bullpen arm promoted when the inevitable dings happen to the rostered names ahead of him.

Chase Petty has looked really, really solid so far in camp, and at this rate he’ll make his debut (and more) as a Red at some point this year...just not on Opening Day or in the first few turns of the rotation, assuming all goes well elsewhere.