Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nice: How PSG Should Line Up in Ligue 1 Game

Paris Saint-Germain will welcome OGC Nice to the Parc des Princes on Saturday, knowing that they can either leapfrog Olympique de Marseille at the top of the table or that they must win to keep the gap at four points.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men host FC Nantes on Friday and will be keen to put the pressure on PSG, but Les Canaris boast the best defensive record in Le Championnat at present. If they can keep OM out at the Stade Velodrome, then Laurent Blanc’s men could hit top spot and stay there for the first time this season.

In order to do that, they must beat a Nice side who have slipped to 11th in the Ligue 1 table since a 7-2 mauling of EA Guingamp, losing two of their three league matches in that time and also crashing out of the Coupe de la Ligue.

PSG are in excellent form, having won their last eight consecutive fixtures in all competitions after Tuesday’s 3-1 win over AFC Ajax in the UEFA Champions League, but they still have a few personnel issues.

According to their official squad on PSG.fr, the hosts will be without midfielders Marco Verratti, Yohan Cabaye and Clement Chantome, as well as attacker Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and substitute goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez.

With those PSG absentees in mind, this is how Les Parisiens should line up against Nice on Saturday.

Goalkeeper

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As always, it will be Salvatore Sirigu in goal for the hosts.

With Nicolas Douchez currently out injured, the Italian’s position as undisputed starter has been safer than ever. But even if PSG’s substitute goalkeeper was fit, Sirigu would almost certainly start every match anyway.

This match will be no different and the Azzurri star will be hoping for his seventh clean sheet of the season.

Defenders

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With a tricky trip to face Lille OSC on the horizon next Wednesday, Blanc might be tempted to rest some of his players so that he can field a first-choice XI in a game where his team will come up against a strong defence.

Bearing that in mind, Serge Aurier could come in for Gregory van der Wiel at right-back after missing the 3-2 win away at Metz.

Captain Thiago Silva missed the 3-1 win over Ajax on Tuesday with injury, but is back in the squad for the visit of Nice. He could be rested once more to make sure that he is fully fit for the trip to Lille, but Marquinhos will probably hand him back his place alongside David Luiz for this one.

Lucas Digne should also come in for Maxwell, despite the Brazilian now firmly re-established as the team’s first-choice left-back after starting the season on the bench.

Midfield

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Having been missing Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti and Yohan Cabaye for the Ajax game, Blanc is at least able to call on Motta for the visit of Nice.

Assuming that the Italian international is fit enough to start, he will come into the midfield alongside French duo Blaise Matuidi and Adrien Rabiot.

Should Motta not be fit enough to start, Javier Pastore could feature in the middle once again. But if Motta is anywhere near ready to play from the off, then he will feature instead.

Attack

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Considering the way they played against Ajax, Blanc might be tempted to stick with his current front three of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi for the visit of Nice.

However, with Lucas Moura back in contention and Pastore another option to play as part of that trio, one or two will have to miss out ahead of the Lille trip.

If Pastore lines up in midfield again, that leaves Lucas and Lavezzi to fight it out for the third and final attacking berth.

Considering that Lucas is only just back to fitness, the Brazilian will likely be given the chance to get back up to speed ahead of the Lille clash.

However, it all depends on how fit all of Blanc’s midfield options are ahead of the game.

Predicted XI

Jonathan Johnson (B/R)

A possible PSG starting XI vs. Nice

Goalkeeper: Salvatore Sirigu.

Right-back: Serge Aurier.

Central defenders: Thiago Silva (captain) and David Luiz.

Left-back: Lucas Digne.

Defensive midfielder: Adrien Rabiot.

Right central midfielder: Javier Pastore.

Left central midfielder: Blaise Matuidi.

Right wing: Lucas Moura.

Central striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Left wing: Edinson Cavani.