Two of Ligue 1’s heavyweights will meet on Sunday night at the Stade de Gerland as Lyon host Paris Saint-Germain in a top-three clash.
Matchday 29 saw each of the top three teams – Lille, Paris Saint-Germain, and Lyon – drop points. Lille are still three points ahead of both Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain in the table.
🎦🏆 [𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘] Dans les coulisses de la victoire 🆚 Lille (3-0) au Parc des Princes 👀🏟️ pic.twitter.com/kKYvyVkOU7— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) March 18, 2021
🎦🏆 [𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘] Dans les coulisses de la victoire 🆚 Lille (3-0) au Parc des Princes 👀🏟️ pic.twitter.com/kKYvyVkOU7
A loss for either team on Sunday night could spell the end of their Ligue 1 title challenge.
Lille must still play both Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, which could leave the title race open until the end of the campaign. On Sunday, Lille play relegation-threatened Nimes and are expected to take all three points.
Lyon went to the Parc des Princes in December and won the match 1-0. Tino Kadewere’s 35th minute goal was enough for Lyon to win as they put on a solid defensive performance.
Despite losing their last meeting, Paris Saint-Germain have been excellent versus Lyon over the course of their last 10 matches. They are unbeaten in seven of the last 10 meetings with Lyon and six of those finished in wins.
Paris Saint-Germain played in the Coupe de France in midweek against Lille and claimed a 3-0 win. Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to score twice. Mauricio Pochettino was without Neymar for the fixture as the Brazilian once again sat out a match.
There is no definitive decision on whether or not Neymar will play on Sunday versus Lyon. A decision will be made on Sunday about his participation. Pochettino is also without Pablo Sarabia and Juan Bernat.
Rudi Garcia has no new injury issues going into the matchday 30 fixture. He will hope that star forward Memphis Depay can lead the team to a second straight win over the Parisians.
Depay has 14 goals and nine assists in 29 Ligue 1 matches. His form has him linked with a move to Barcelona in the offseason. Depay is out of country at the end of the campaign and could be a part of Ronald Koeman’s Barca re-build.
Lyon have allowed the third-fewest goals in Ligue (26). Paris Saint-Germain have conceded (19), the second-lowest total.
These are also the two highest scoring teams (PSG with 63 goals, Lyon have 57). Sunday’s game will have direct implications on the title race.
Yes, the teams must still play Lille, but dropped points here could be devastating. Paris St. Germain may have lost the reverse fixture, but history tells us they typically win against Lyon since the Qatari takeover.
Pochettino should lead Paris Saint-Germain to a low-scoring win in a defensive tussle.