Reims will take on an improving PSG outfit at their Stade Auguste-Delaune II on Sunday evening perhaps fearing the worst as the hosts have made a poor start to this season’s Ligue 1 campaign, losing three of their first four matches of the new domestic top flight season.
Sunday’s hosts had enjoyed a solid campaign last season in the French top flight as they were sitting in 6th place when the season was brought to a halt, and although they were eight points adrift of 4th placed Lille they would have been pleased with their efforts which saw them suffer just one defeat from their final seven matches.
Reims finished the season with a four-match unbeaten run which included wins against Rennes and Brest but this term the hosts find themselves under early pressure having suffered three defeats on the trot.
A 2-2 draw away at Monaco on the opening day handed Reims a promising point but they’ve since slumped to three losses on the bounce with defeats against Lille, Angers and Metz respectively.
PSG seemed to still be recovering from their hangover of their Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich when they started this new Ligue 1 season as they suffered early back-to-back defeats to Lens and Marseille, although it should be noted that manager, Thomas Teuchel, had various injuries and virus issues to deal with.
Key players are now starting to return for the Paris-based outfit with the likes of Mbappe, Icardi and Di Maria featuring and it’s no coincidence that PSG’s recent results have picked up as they’ve posted back-to-back wins against Metz and Nice - the latter being a 3-0 win away from home.
Despite their poor start to this new Ligue 1 season, PSG’s recent winning momentum has helped lift them up into 8th place and are now just four points behind the early surprise league leaders, Saint-Etienne and Rennes, who are both sitting on 10 points apiece prior to this weekend’s action.
Looking ahead, PSG have a fairly easy fixture schedule ahead of them and the visitors know that if they can gain a few wins under their belts in quick succession, they’ll be there or thereabouts in terms of sitting near the top of the division.
Given Reims’s poor start and PSG’s recent revival, the visitors could get off to a quick start here with a lead at half-time and winning at full-time.