Paris Saint Germain’s barnstorming start to the French Ligue One season comes face to face with its strongest challenge yet when they lock horns with Olympique Marseille at Stade Velodrome on Sunday night.
PSG are overwhelming favourites to win their seventh title in eight years as a record equaling ten consecutive matches has catapulted the Parisians to an eight points advantage over Lille.
Bruno Genesis’ Marseille are one of just two or three Ligue One clubs capable of upsetting the apple-cart against Thomas Tuchel’s twinkle toes stylists. However, for the 1993 European champions to get anything out of this game, the back four led by Adil Rami and Luis Gustavo must be on top of their game.
PSG’s red-hot form has seen them plunder a staggering 37 goals in ten matches. Ten of those have come in the last two matches against Olympique Lyon and Amiens. Marseille especially ought to stay alert to the danger posed by Les Bleus teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe Lottin, whose nine Ligue One goals have come in just nine matches.
Christophe Galtier’s leaders of the chasing pack, Lille are primed to cut the gap atop the table when they welcome Caen on Saturday. The 2012 title winners are confounding pundits courtesy of the prolific form of September’s Ligue One player of the month Nicholas Pepe who is the revelation of the season.
Legend Thierry Henry’s immediate task is to improve on Monaco’s indiscipline that has seen their players receive marching orders in their last two encounters. The 2017 champions will be expected to reverse a slide which has seen them drop into the bottom three when they host off colour Dijon.
On Friday night, attack minded newcomers Nimes set the ball rolling when they host fading giants Saint Etienne. The visitors were multiple champions in the 1970s and 1980s when Michel Platini was their star man. But they haven’t won the title in decades and must rely on Tunisian skipper Wahbi Khazri for goals.
FRIDAY:
-Nimes v Saint Etienne @09:45pm
SATURDAY:
-Lille v Caen @06:00pm
-Monaco v Dijon @09:00pm
-Guingamp v Strasbourg @09:00pm
-Toulouse v Montpellier @09:00pm
-Angers v Olympique Lyon @09:00pm
-Amiens v Nantes @09:00pm
SUNDAY:
-Rennes v Reims @05:00pm
-Bordeaux v Nice @07:00pm
-Marseille v Paris Saint Germain @11:00pm
