Clock ticking for Emery ahead of Real clash

– Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery (right) says his side will be using two upcoming matches against arch-rivals Marseille at the Parc des Princes as preparation for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

PSG’s games with Marseille are usually the biggest fixtures on the French footballing calendar, but Spaniard Emery insists that tomorrow’s Ligue 1 match and next week’s French Cup quarterfinal come second to trying to keep alive their European dream.

The big-spending capital club were beaten 3-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie last week as Cris- tiano Ronaldo scored a double for reigning champions Real.

“These are two ‘clasicos’ (against Marseille), which will serve to prepare us for Real,” Emery said this week.

PSG, who were held 2-2 at Marseille earlier this season, are 12 points clear at the top and are set to reclaim the title they lost to Monaco last season.

It would be a fifth league crown in six seasons for the Parisians but, for all the money poured into the club by their Qatari owners, PSG have not been able to translate domestic domination into European success, with the 6-1 humiliation at Barcelona a year ago the low point.

Emery attracted a lot of the blame for that performance and for the loss to Zinedine Zidane’s Real at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he replaced striker Edinson Cavani with the scores still level.

But the former Sevilla coach argues that PSG are much better at home, where they had beaten Barca 4-0 in the first leg last season.

“It is above all at the Parc that we remain a powerful force,” he added.

Cavani scored twice in a 5-2 romp against Strasbourg last weekend, the second set up by world-record signing Neymar.

But Cavani’s on-field gestures make it clear he thinks the Brazilian should pass to him more often and their strained relationship is under the microscope.

For Marseille, there might never be a better time to go to the Parc des Princes as they look to end a 15-match winless streak against PSG dating back to November 2011.

They have not finished in the top three since 2013 but are regaining some consistency and punch under Rudi Garcia. – AFP