The weekend’s Ligue 1 action gets underway on Friday night as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Nice to the Parc des Princes.
Considering the huge amount of money spent by Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, they are expected to win the Ligue 1 title this season and reach the final of the UEFA Champions League. Anything less will mean Unai Emery is left fighting for his job.
Nice enjoyed a great 2016/17 season but things have not been going according to plan in this campaign. They travel to the French capital down in 14th place and need a win.
Paris Saint-Germain were held in the big match last weekend in Ligue 1, as they picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at Marseille.
This was a massive match, especially for the home fans and the atmosphere was incredible. Twice Paris Saint-Germain fell behind in the game and twice they fought back. The second equalising goal came via an excellent Edinson Cavani free-kick in the dying minutes of the game, after Neymar had been sent off.
There were suggestions that Paris Saint-Germain were over-confident going into the match, but trends show they had won their previous four matches in all competitions and scored 15 goals in the process.
Paris Saint-Germain come into this match on a thirteen-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1 and have not been defeated in any of their previous 24 home matches. Trends show they have won by 2 or more goals in their last five home Ligue 1 games and have won seven of their last ten Ligue 1 matches by the same margin.
Nice on the other hand have been struggling for form and have lost their last four matches in all competitions.
There have been defeats at home to Marseille and Strasbourg in Ligue 1 and Lazio in the Europa League. Nice have also lost away to Montpellier in Ligue 1 and you must go back to the 17th September to find the last time they won a league game.
Away from home in Ligue 1, trends show Nice have won only one of their last seven games and have managed to score just one goal in their last four. Furthermore, they have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine away league games, which is not great form when heading to the Parc des Princes.
Looking towards the potential team news and Paris Saint-Germain will be without Neymar, who is suspended following his sending off against Marseille. Otherwise, Paris Saint-Germain should be at full strength.
Nice travel to Paris without the injured duo of Wylan Cyprian and Mickael Le Bihan but these are not new injuries for Lucien Favre to deal with. Mario Balotelli will hope to start the match up-front.
Considering the form of Nice and the way Paris Saint-Germain have been scoring goals, you fear for the visitors in this match. We could be in for a high scoring game, with Paris Saint-Germain winning and scoring over 2.5 goals.