PSG vs. Lille: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Lille OSC travel to the French capital this weekend, taking on the runaway Ligue 1 leaders, Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Saturday afternoon.
These two teams will meet again on April 23 in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue at the Stade de France, so this is a chance for the away side to show that they can compete with Laurent Blanc’s side.
The last team Lille travelled to Paris they were soundly beaten 6-1 by PSG, arriving to find the Parisians in irresistible form. They had no chance of getting a result that day.
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At the start of the campaign Lille were close to picking up an opening day draw against the champions, but Herve Renard’s side, although playing with an extra man for the majority of the game, failed to test Kevin Trapp’s goal and were beaten by Lucas Moura’s solitary strike.
Since then, PSG have continued to play better and better and Lille have continued to show signs of inconsistency under new boss Frederic Antonetti. It will take an almighty performance to come away with anything on Saturday—a good start would be to try and not concede six once again.
Date: Saturday, February 13, 2016
Time: 4 p.m. GMT (11 a.m ET)
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
TV Info: Canal Plus (France), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Last Five Results
Paris Saint-Germain
W PSG 3-0 Lyon (Coupe de France)
W Marseille 1-2 PSG (Ligue 1)
W PSG 3-1 Lorient (Ligue 1)
W Saint-Etienne 0-2 PSG (Ligue 1)
W PSG 2-0 Toulouse (Coupe de la Ligue)
Lille OSC
D Lille 1-1 Rennes (Ligue 1)
W Lille 1-0 Caen (Ligue 1)
D Marseille 1-1 Lille (Ligue 1)
W Lille 5-1 Bordeaux (Coupe de la Ligue)
L Lille 1-3 Troyes (Ligue 1)
Team News
PSG
On the back of Wednesday's Coupe de France victory over Lyon and the upcoming crucial UEFA Champions League fixture against Chelsea, Blanc has a couple of huge decisions to make for Lille's visit to Paris.
His best players will struggle to play three games in less than a week, especially with the visit of Chelsea coming last in the sequence. His starting XI on Saturday will point towards who plays on Tuesday.
At his Friday press conference, Blanc admitted he wouldn't be able to name his squad until after training that day, but he mentioned that both Javier Pastore and Marco Verratti would be doubtful to start, hinting that if all goes well, the Italian could be part of the playing squad.
Expect Layvin Kurzawa, Benjamin Stambouli and possibly Marquinhos all to start.
Predicted Formation (4-3-3): Kevin Trapp; Serge Aurier, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Layvin Kurzawa; Thiago Motta, Adrien Rabiot, Benjamin Stambouli; Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura
Lille
Lille are without four players going into Saturday’s clash with PSG at the Parc des Princes. Young goalkeeper Mike Maignan and experienced defender Marko Basa continue to miss out through injury. Portuguese loanee Eder, after scoring his first goal for the club against Rennes, has also picked up an injury.
Sofiane Boufal, sent off after two yellow cards against Rennes will miss the game through suspension. Manager Frederic Antonetti will have to choose between Yassine Benzia and Junior Tallo as the centre-forward. On the wings, playing their normal 4-3-3, it’s likely to be Eric Bautheac on the left and Rony Lopes on the right.
Predicted Formation (4-3-3): Vincent Enyeama; Sebastian Corchia, Renato Civelli, Adama Soumaoro, Djibril Sidibe; Rio Mavuba, Florent Balmont, Mounir Obbadi; Rony Lopes, Junior Tallo, Eric Bautheac
Player to Watch
Since joining on loan in January, AS Monaco’s Rony Lopes hasn’t quite enjoyed the number of minutes he would have hoped for under Antonetti. Three sub performances were followed up with his first start against Caen in Lille’s 1-0 victory—but then he was dropped to the bench for the 1-1 draw with Rennes last week.
Boufal’s suspension should give the Portuguese winger another opportunity to impress, and a positive performance could help win more time in the Lille starting XI.
Blessed with great pace, his strength and low centre of gravity make him a problem for any defence. Unlike Boufal, Lopes is more direct with his style and less bothered about flash dribbling. Lille will see little of the ball on Saturday and will need to take any chances that appear on the break—that’s where Lopes will enjoy space to create and expose defenders.
Key Battle
PSG are in good goalscoring form at the moment, especially their Swedish talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Parisians have scored 12 goals in their last five games, and the forward has taken his total up to 21 for the league campaign.
Outside of Ibrahimovic, Lille also have to contend with Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura and Edinson Cavani.
One player who will need to be at his best if Lille want to get anything from the game is 23-year-old defender Adama Soumaoro. The centre-back has emerged as a surprise starter since Antonetti’s arrival this season. After only playing 90 minutes the previous campaign, the big defender has started 17 games this term.
Speaking to Lille’s official website (in French), Soumaoro was excited for the game, being born in Fontenay-aux-Roses—just seven kilometres south of the Parc des Princes—he explained that his friends and family will be in attendance.
More importantly, he exclaimed that Les Dogues will be going to the French capital looking for at least a point and would not be too defeatist. Explaining that his team are competitors first.
Facing Zlatan and friends in top form will be the toughest challenge Soumaoro has faced in his breakout season. Lille have picked up six clean sheets with Soumaoro in the defence; an excellent performance could give them a chance to make it seven.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Home win: 50-263
Away win: 719-50
Draw: 553-100
