Reims vs. PSG: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream and TV Info
French champions Paris Saint-Germain travel to Stade Auguste Delaune to take on high-flying Stade de Reims on Saturday.
Laurent Blanc’s men are Ligue 1 leaders, but after a 2-2 draw at home to Girondins de Bordeaux last time out, they are looking to get back to winning ways in Champagne-Ardenne, France.
Reims are third in Le Championnat and Olivier Guegan’s team come into this weekend’s game having won three of their first five matches.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Where to Watch
Date: Saturday, September 19
Time: 4:30 p.m. BST (5:30 p.m. CEST)/11:30 a.m. EDT
Venue: Stade Auguste Delaune, Reims
TV Info: Canal+ (France), BT Sport Europe (0:15 a.m. BST on Sunday morning), beIN Sports (USA—5:55 p.m. EDT)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect
Preamble
Having got their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a flying start with a 2-0 win over Malmo, PSG now have a chance to preserve or extend their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
Last time out, Kevin Trapp’s gaffe gifted Bordeaux a 2-2 draw at Parc des Princes, meaning that Les Parisiens no longer possess a 100 percent record in Le Championnat.
However, with three league games coming up in quick succession before their next Champions League encounter, the capital club have the chance to build on their current one-point lead over second-placed Stade Rennais.
Reims away, EA Guingamp at home and FC Nantes away are all winnable matches pre-Shakhtar Donetsk and should enable Blanc to adequately rotate his squad.
At least one change will certainly be needed with the news that defender David Luiz has been left behind in Paris as a precaution, per PSG.fr's official squad list. Adrien Rabiot—who may well have featured in a rotated side—is also left out with a knee issue.
Reims are enjoying a good start to the season after last term’s near brush with relegation. The hosts have won three of their opening five fixtures, and their only reverse came away at Nantes, where a superb team move finished by Ermir Lenjani made the difference for Les Canaris.
Guegan’s men know the odds are stacked against them with the visit of PSG, but Reims’ home record against Les Parisiens since their return to the top flight has not been bad. The six-time Ligue 1 champions have won one, drawn one and lost one at Stade Auguste Delaune, and they will be hoping the champions’ potential complacency helps them to another famous win.
If they are to take home the three points, they will have to make light of the absences of former PSG men Antoine Conte and David N'Gog through injury, per stade-de-reims.com's official squad list (in French).
Another ex-PSG man, Gregory Bourillon, will not feature against his old club either, but that is because he has been left out by Guegan. Odair Fortes is not fit enough yet to make the match squad.
Form Lines (all competitions)
Reims
W 1-2 vs. Bordeaux (Ligue 1)
W 1-0 vs. Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1)
L 1-0 vs. FC Nantes (Ligue 1)
W 4-1 vs. FC Lorient (Ligue 1)
D 2-2 vs. Toulouse (Ligue 1)
PSG
W 2-0 vs. Gazelec Ajaccio (Ligue 1)
W 0-1 vs. Montpellier HSC (Ligue 1)
W 0-3 vs. AS Monaco (Ligue 1)
D 2-2 vs. Bordeaux (Ligue 1)
W 2-0 vs. Malmo FF (Champions League)
Predicted Formations
Reims (4-2-3-1): Agassa; Traore, Mandi (c), Weber, Signorino; Devaux, Kankava/Peuget; De Preville, Oniangue, Bulot/Turan; Kyei.
PSG (4-3-3): Trapp; Van der Wiel/Aurier, Marquinhos, Silva (c), Kurzawa; Stambouli, Verratti, Pastore; Lucas, Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi.
Players to Watch
Nicolas De Preville, Jordan Siebatcheu and Grejohn Kyei have all been dangerous so far this season for Reims, netting five goals between them. However, the three have also created as many goals and a number of those assists were for each other.
Key out of that trio will perhaps be Kyei, who gave PSG problems towards the end of last season when he came on as a second-half substitute and scored in a 3-2 defeat at Parc des Princes.
Tall and strong, but also fast and technically sound, the 20-year-old has all the attributes to pose the Parisien defence—with four clean sheets from five games—a few issues at Stade Auguste Delaune.
Kyei will also be key to bringing the likes of De Preville into the game.
On the PSG side, assuming that he starts, Angel Di Maria is undoubtedly the man to watch at present. The Argentina international has wasted no time in making an impact on his new team, with a goal and an assist in his first three games.
El Fideo opened his account for the French champions with an early goal in the 2-0 home win over Malmo earlier this week, and he also looked impressive in the 2-2 draw against Bordeaux—albeit a little selfish.
If Di Maria can continue his early PSG form, then Reims will find it very difficult to live with the South American.
Key Battle
The battle between the two midfields will go a long way towards deciding this one.
There is a chance that Blanc decides to rest one or two of Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti or Blaise Matuidi—most likely one of the latter two—with Benjamin Stambouli and Javier Pastore possibly coming in to replace whoever makes way.
Regardless of any potential change, though, PSG’s midfield should have too much for their Reims counterparts.
Antoine Devaux, Prince Oniangue and Alexi Peuget form a solid central midfield, with De Preville getting forward as often as possible, but that unit pales in comparison to the options at Blanc’s disposal.
If the French champions are able to seize control of the ball early and play their preferred passing game, it could be a long afternoon for Reims.
Odds (Odds Shark)
Reims: +649
PSG: -238
Draw: +350
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
