PSG vs Lille

Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to return to winning ways in Ligue 1 when they take on reigning champions Lille at the Parc des Princes.

Though 10-man PSG held Marseille to a goalless away draw last time out, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have now drawn a blank in two of their previous three Ligue 1 outings (W1, D1, L1). That doesn’t bode well with the club’s historic efforts in the summer transfer window, even though ‘Les Parisiens’ hold a handsomely-looking seven-point lead at the summit. Heading into this fixture with revenge on their minds, PSG will be eager to beat a Lille side who took the Ligue 1 crown away from them last season and went on to defeat them 1-0 in the Super Cup back in August. Despite Lille’s form wobble this season, Paris might face a certain mental obstacle here, having failed to score in both last season’s Ligue 1 meetings with this opposition (D1, L1).

With PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe ruled with ENT infection, Lille will see their chance to bounce back from a frustrating three-match winless run in all competitions (D2, L1). Yet, ‘Les Dogues’ may need a lot more than Mbappe’s absence to get the three points here, considering their underwhelming Ligue 1 form on the road this season (W1, D2, L3). Indeed, after going unbeaten in 16 consecutive league travels (W12, D4), the visitors have suffered three defeats across their last four Ligue 1 road trips (W1), with each game won/lost in that period yielding a narrow one-goal margin. But Lille can find motivation in a unique opportunity to become the first time since Rennes (2012 and 2014) to beat PSG in back-to-back Ligue 1 encounters in Paris after winning this exact fixture 1-0 last season.