Thomas Tuchel believes Andre Villas-Boas' claim Paris Saint-Germain are in "another league" to their domestic rivals was simply an attempt to manage Marseille fans' expectations ahead of Le Classique.

Villas-Boas said this week that Sunday's clash at the Parc de Princes matters little to him, given PSG's vastly superior financial muscle.

The Ligue 1 champions have dominated in France since they were taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, winning six out of a possible eight league titles.

PSG are also responsible for paying the two biggest transfer fees of all time, shattering the world record when they spent €222million to get Neymar from Barcelona in 2017, while Kylian Mbappe cost a reported €180m from Monaco.

Tuchel brushed off Villas-Boas' claim PSG – who went into this weekend with a five-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit – have an unfair advantage, saying the nature of their rivalry means anything can happen.

"Maybe I would say the same thing if I was the Marseille coach to manage the expectations of the fans," he told a media conference.

"I can understand his opinion because we are in a good period at PSG. We are strong and we have won a lot of titles in recent years. I also consider this to be an isolated match in the league, where the standings of either club don't matter.

"We are not afraid of Marseille and we expect a special atmosphere, like you would have in a Champions League or cup game.

"We like these kinds of atmospheres and are very competitive in them. We are ready to challenge them. This is a big challenge; we expect Marseille to play with intensity and aggression."

🇫🇷 Le Classique:

PSG 🆚 Marseille
Sunday ＠ 4PM ET on beIN SPORTS

Edinson Cavani failed to make it off the bench for the second consecutive game against Club Brugge on Tuesday as he nears a comeback from a hip injury.

Tuchel says the Uruguay international was disappointed not to feature but the PSG boss stands by his decision to reintroduce him slowly.

"He was disappointed, of course, because it's Edinson and he's used to playing with us," he added.

"He missed a lot of games because of his injury. I talked with him. On the one hand, I want to give him minutes because he deserved it and worked super hard to be ready. 

"On the other hand, I have to think about the team, to balance it. I cannot promise him he will play 15 or 20 minutes. It depends on tactical circumstances and injuries. It's hard for me to know.

"I know he's disappointed, but he does not show it in training. I hope he will stay with the same state of mind and I will try to give him some minutes. He needs it to regain rhythm."