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Saturday sees a huge game in Ligue 1 as Paris St. Germain play host to Lille at the Parc des Princes.
It’s no exaggeration to suggest this game could be key to deciding the Ligue 1 title. Paris St. Germain and Lille are only separated by goal difference at the top of the table.
With both sides home to some fantastic players, we should expect an excellent game between high-quality rivals.
Paris St. Germain vs Lille Head-to-Head
Paris St. Germain have been on a strong run since the arrival of coach Mauricio Pochettino in January. They’ve won nine of 13 games since the Argentine took over and now reside at the top of the table.
However, PSG have not been infallible by any means. That run of games has still seen them post shock losses against Lorient, Monaco and Nantes.
But if they can pick up three points here, they’d have to be seen as hot favorites to retain their Ligue 1 title.
Meanwhile, Lille have been pushing for a title challenge for the majority of the 2020-21 campaign. In fact, they’ve spent a total of 12 matchweeks at the top of the table.
Christophe Galtier’s side have suffered just three defeats all season. However, one of those losses came against struggling Nimes just before the recent international break.
That result allowed Paris St. Germain to leapfrog them at the top of the table, albeit on goal difference.
Interestingly enough, the last league match between these two ended goalless on 20 December. That match was one of Thomas Tuchel’s last in charge of Paris St. Germain.
However, PSG did beat Lille last month in the Coupe de France, although key players on both sides were rested.
Paris St. Germain form guide: W-D-L-W-W
Lille form guide: W-W-D-L-L
Paris St. Germain vs Lille Team News
Paris St. Germain
Mauricio Pochettino has a number of injuries in his squad right now. Paris St. Germain are expected to miss no fewer than six first-team players for this game, including the influential Marco Verratti.
Injured: Marco Verratti, Thilo Kehrer, Mauro Icardi, Pablo Sarabia, Juan Bernat, Alessandro Florenzi, Alexandre Letellier
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Lille
Defender Jeremy Pied is Lille’s only injury concern coming into this game. He’s expected to miss out with a sprained ankle.
Injured: Jeremy Pied
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Paris St. Germain vs Lille Predicted XI
Paris St. Germain predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Keylor Navas, Colin Dagba, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Abdou Diallo, Danilo Pereira, Idrissa Gueye, Angel Di Maria, Julian Draxler, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar
Lille predicted XI (4-4-2): Mike Maignan, Zeki Celik, Jose Fonte, Sven Botman, Reinildo, Luiz Araujo, Xeka, Renato Sanches, Yusuf Yazici, Burak Yilmaz, Jonathan David
Paris St. Germain vs Lille Prediction
Despite PSG having the bigger names in their squad, these sides are well-matched, as their 0-0 draw earlier in the season showed.
However, with Neymar now ready to return and Lille coming off a poor result against Nimes, the odds may fall in PSG’s favor for this game.
We expect a home win that puts Paris St. Germain in pole position to claim the Ligue 1 title again.
Prediction: Paris St. Germain 2-1 Lille
