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Lionel Messi is expected to start when Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) travel to face Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 on Sunday (September 18). The Parisian giants will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the 2022-23 season against Peter Bosz's side.
PSG are coming off a 3-1 win at Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Champions League in midweek. Lionel Messi had an excellent outing in Israel, as he scored and assisted once.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has been in great form this season, so Christophe Galtier will want that to continue against Lyon. Messi will be expected to start in attack alongside his usual strike partners Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappe.
The attacking trio have been helping each other score and assist goals all season. That was evident by Messi's assist to Neymar in PSG's 1-0 league win over Brest last time around. The Argentine international lobbed the ball over the Brest defence to find Neymar, who had an easy finish.
PSG have made an excellent start to their title defence. Christophe Galtier's side are atop the Ligue 1 charts on goal difference over Olympique Marseille. Both teams have amassed 19 points from their opening seven league games.
Lyon, meanwhile, have lost their last two Ligue 1 games. They have dropped down to fifth in the standings, having picked up 13 points. Going by Lyon's current form, it'ssafe to assume that PSG are the favourites to win this game on Sunday evening.
How has PSG forward Lionel Messi performed against Lyon?
Lionel Messi only made one appearance against Lyon in his debut season for PSG in 2021-22. The seven-time Ballon d'Or played 76 minutes in the Parisianss 2-1 home win over Lyon. However, he did not make a goal contribution.
Messi missed the reverse fixture against Lyon, as he was recovering from COVID-19. The game ended 1-1 at the Groupama Stadium.
Messi has faced Lyon seven times in his illustrious career. Six of those meetings have come in the UEFA Champions League while playing for Barcelona.
The Argentine has scored five goals and provided three assists against the Ligue 1 club across competitions. The Parisians will hope for Messi to have a similar kind of display on Sunday.
