Leader Marseille faces Lens in a clash of Ligue 1's top defenses

PARIS (AP) — French league leader Marseille travels to fourth-placed Lens on Saturday for a matchup between two sides combining defensive solidity with attacking flair.

Chasing a first Ligue 1 title since 2010, nine-time champion Marseille has delivered a strong start to the season and boasts the league's best attack and defense — 21 goals scored and just seven conceded.

Lens, meanwhile, shares the league's best defensive record. It has scored fewer goals than Marseille (12), but the addition this summer of 2018 World Cup winner Florian Thauvin and Odsonne Édouard have significantly strengthened Pierre Sage's attacking options. The former Lyon coach will manage his 50th Ligue 1 match against Marseille.

Marseille heads north after seeing its five-game winning streak in all competitions snapped midweek with a 2-1 Champions League defeat at Sporting.

Following years of Paris Saint-Germain dominance, this season has been as tight as it gets. After eight rounds, just four points separate Marseille from seventh-placed Monaco.

PSG, which demolished Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in midweek Champions League action, remains the heavy favorite to retain its title despite trailing Marseille by one point.

Returning from injury, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé scored against the German side and is expected to be back on the domestic stage when PSG visits 12th-placed Brest on Saturday.

Third-placed Strasbourg plays at Lyon on Sunday and Lille hosts bottom club Metz.

PSG midfielder Senny Mayulu, who came off the bench to score his team's final goal in the Champions League final, shows no signs of slowing down.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who broke into the first team during the 2023–2024 campaign, has continued to grow in influence this season, starting all three of PSG's Champions League matches.

Despite a minor thigh injury earlier this month that kept him from joining the France Under-21 squad, Mayulu was decisive last week, rescuing a 3-3 draw for PSG against Strasbourg.

Sent off for the second time this season during Metz’s 4–0 defeat to Toulouse, Sadibou Sané has been handed a three-match suspension by the league's disciplinary commission for a dangerous challenge on Cristian Cásseres.

The Metz defender had already been banned for three matches following his straight red card against Paris FC in August.

Lille president Olivier Létang has been handed a one-match suspension and a further two suspended matches by the disciplinary commission for his remarks against referees.

After Lille’s 1–0 defeat to Lyon last month, Letang said there was a deep-rooted problem with refereeing in France. "Every weekend, in almost every match, there are problems. And the issue is that there’s no dialogue. The people at the head of the French Football Federation don’t have the skills to manage what’s needed,” he said.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Marseille's Michael Murillo, left, challenges for the ball with Sporting's Maximiliano Araujo during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Sporting CP and Marseille in Lisbon, Portugal, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Marseille's head coach Roberto De Zerbi greets Michael Murillo after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Sporting CP and Marseille in Lisbon, Portugal, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

PSG's Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain in Leverkusen, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Marseille's Igor Paixao makes an attempt to score past Sporting's Geovany Quenda, centre, and Sporting's Ivan Fresneda during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Sporting CP and Marseille in Lisbon, Portugal, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)