Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Ligue 1 clash between Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Paris Saint-Germain will continue in their pursuit of an unbeaten Ligue 1 season when they travel to the Stade de la Beaujoire to face Nantes on Tuesday night.
This game was rearranged last weekend in order to give PSG more time to prepare for their Champions League tie with Aston Villa, to the disappointment of those in the Nantes camp.
Match preview
Even though the title is already sewn up, history still beckons for PSG, who are seeking to become the first club in Ligue 1 history to complete a full season unbeaten.
Luis Enrique‘s men are also resounding favourites to beat Reims in the Coupe de France final, while they are one of the red-hot favourites to win the Champions League this season, in what could be an unprecedented treble for a French club.
With just five matches of the 34-game league season remaining, upcoming opponents Nantes hold the record for the longest unbeaten start to a Ligue 1 season with 32 games without defeat, but that record looks set to go in a few weeks’ time.
After not playing in Ligue 1 for two weeks, the champions returned to action at the weekend in a narrow 2-1 win at home to Le Havre, which was not pretty, but got the job done as another hurdle was cleared.
That also saw them win a 10th straight Ligue 1 game for the first time since the 2018-19 season, but next up are one of the few teams that have already taken points off them during the current campaign.
Despite a league-record 84% possession, and attempting a staggering 1,008 passes over the 90 minutes, PSG were only able to draw 1-1 with Antoine Kombouare‘s men, putting a slight blemish on a usually remarkable record against the Canaries, in which they had won 22 of the 25 previous meetings.
PSG have though found the net in 27 consecutive matches against Nantes, the longest run in the club’s history against a single opponent.
The reverse fixture saw Nantes arrest a five-game losing streak against the Parisians, but it is hard to see them repeating the feat, with six defeats in their last nine Ligue 1 games.
© Imago
One of those came on Friday night, when the Canaries were denied a point away to in-form Rennes late on, after playing the final half-hour with 10 men.
Marcus Coco‘s red card was eventually their undoing, as teenager Mohamed Meite netted the winner four minutes from time, but PSG’s win over Le Havre was helpful in their hopes of staving off relegation, as it kept them three points above the drop zone.
Angers also lost to the benefit of Nantes, but Reims’ win means Kombouare’s men fell to 14th over the weekend, ahead of four pivotal matches to come after this clash with the champions.
Nantes have by far the kindest fixtures on paper of any team in the relegation fight, with all four remaining opponents being in the bottom half at present, including a final-day showdown with bottom-of-the-table Montpellier.
The Canaries sit on 30 points presently, which would have been enough to survive last season, as Metz went into the relegation playoff with 29, but with Le Havre currently on 27, it appears more will be required this time around.
Nantes Ligue 1 form:
Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 form:
Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):
Team News
Enrique made numerous changes to his PSG team at the weekend, leaving Ousmane Dembele out entirely, with midfield trio Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves all left on the bench.
That allowed Senny Mayulu to come in for a start, while Nuno Mendes was also given a break, with 17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye handed an opportunity to impress in the first team.
The visitors may return to a slightly stronger team in this one to keep their top players match fit, before the Nice game at the weekend sees more heavy rotation from Enrique.
Coco will be banned for Nantes after his dismissal on Friday night, while fellow full-back Fabien Centonze has been missing for the majority of the season for unspecified reasons.
The same is true for goalkeeper Alban Lafont, who continues to be left out, while Francis Coquelin (hamstring), Adel Mahamoud (knee) and Sekou Doucoure (shoulder) will be out due to injury.
Both goalkeeper Anthony Lopes and Welsh international Sorba Thomas were forced off with injury at the weekend, meaning third-choice stopper Patrick Carlgren is set to make just his sixth Nantes start in this one.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Lucas Beraldo, Hernandez; Mayulu, Joao Neves, Lee; Dembele, Goncalo Ramos, KvaratskheliaParis Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:Carlgren; Amian, Castelletto, Pallois, Cozza; Lepenant, Douglas Augusto, Leroux; Abline, Mohamed, Simon
We say: Nantes 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain
PSG again showed at the weekend why 10 of their last 11 league games have seen both teams score, allowing Le Havre opportunities to score, with one eventually being taken, but the visitors should have far too much for a Nantes team battling near the bottom, regardless of how much Enrique decides to rotate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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