Lille vs Paris Saint-Germain
Football : France : Ligue 1
Friday 28th October - Kickoff 19:45
Stade Pierre Mauroy
Lille
Lille beat Bastia 2-1 last Saturday to move up into 16th place. The former Champions League regulars have struggled in recent seasons and they are closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top 6 places.
The win last weekend is their 2nd in 3 games but just their 2nd in the last 8. The last 7 results have ended without a draw with Lille losing 6. This defensive team has scored 2 or more goals in 2/10 games and in 1 of the last 9. 1 clean sheet in 8 is also worrying and it's easy to see why they are struggling at the foot of the table.
At home Lille have a 3-0-2 record, wins over Dijon, Bastia and Nancy are against teams who average 16th in the table. Monaco (2nd) and Toulouse (4th) beat them and it's hard to see them getting a result against PSG.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain continue their inconsistent start to the season. The 0-0 with Marseille leaves them 6 points off Nice and 2 behind Monaco as PSG find themselves in the unusual position of 3rd place.
The draw with Marseille snaps a 4 game winning run in all competitions but in Ligue 1 PSG has dropped points in 4/10 games already even losing 2.
The blank is their first in 4 games having scored 2 or more in each of those 4 games before hand. At the back 3 clean sheets in the last 4 is good and as is often the case, until they get that first goal PSG can get very frustrated against sides to set up defensively against them.
Away from home it's 9 games in all competitions since their last draw with a record of 7-0-2. Toulouse and Monaco are the sides to beat them this season in which PSG scored just once between both games. In 3/5 they have netted 2 or more and 2/3 away Ligue 1 wins have come to nil.
Lille has won just two times in their last six matches which dropped them to the 16th spot of the 20-team French top flight table. The two wins were earned in their last three games, which is a good sign for head coach Frédéric Antonetti's squad.
Les Dogues is coming off a 2-1 win over fellow lowly club Bastia also at their home stadium of Pierre-Mauroy last Saturday, as per SkySports.
After a goalless first half of play, Lille hit two quick goals in the 51st and 57th minutes, courtesy of French defender Sebastien Corchia and Portuguese striker Eder respectively, to take a 2-0 lead.
Bastia tried to fight back late in the match. The visitors managed to trim the gap to one point in the 71st minute with a right-footed shot from Guinean forward Sadio Diallo off an assist from teammate Allan Saint-Maximin.
Lille was able to prevent Bastia from finding the equalizer as time ran out on their opponents, netting the much-needed win.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain has been struggling to find their top form this season so far. The team only managed to win six matches in their first 10 games this term, which is unusual as compared to the last four seasons that they have won the Ligue 1 title.
In their most recent game, PSG was held to a 0-0 draw by middling team Marseille at their own home ground of Parc des Princes last Sunday, Goal reported.
It was the second winless performance by head coach Unai Emery's side in their last four outings, which has settled them to the third spot in the overall standings.
As mentioned, third place is an unusual spot for Les Parisiens as they have consistently been at the top of the league table until former head coach Laurent Blanc resigned and striker Zlatan Ibrahimović moved to the Premier League with Manchester United.
Head To Head
PSG have won four and drawn one of the last five meetings between the teams. The Parisians won this corresponding fixture 0-1 last term.
Lille vs Psg Stats
Four of Lille's last five matches have been settled by a single goal.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 decision for Paris Saint-Germain.
Lille starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Enyeama; Corchia, Civelli, Soumaoro, Beria; Mavuba, Amadou, Sankhare; Bissouma, Eder, Sliti
Paris Saint-Germain starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Areola; Aurier, Marquinhos, Silva, Maxwell; Verratti, Motta, Rabiot; Moura, Cavani, Di Maria
