MX23RW : Monday, August 2 00:38:20| >> :120:39070:39070:
Nov 22, 2019 at 7.45pm UK at Parc des Princes (Paris)
Attendance: 47,476
PSGParis Saint-Germain
2-0
Lille
Icardi (17'), di Maria (31')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Preview: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Lille - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Paris Saint-Germain's meeting with Lille in Ligue 1 on Friday, including a prediction, team news and predicted lineups.

Paris Saint-Germain will look to maintain their lead of eight points at the top of Ligue 1 when they meet Lille at the Parc des Princes on Friday.

However, they face a tough task against a potentially dangerous Lille side, who are sitting just three points off second-placed Marseille.


Match preview

PSG boss Thomas Tuchel on October 18, 2019© Reuters

Despite a few early hiccups, PSG have reached a stage in the season whereby their supremacy over the division becomes visible when looking at the table.

Indeed, it was understood by most even back in August that PSG would inevitably claim their seventh Ligue 1 title in eight years come May, such is the sheer quality of their squad compared to the rest of the division.

However, this is not to demean the work done by Tuchel, who has had to navigate most of the 2019-20 season so far without the help of star players Kylian Mbappe and Neymar due to injuries.

The German's championing and successful ingratiating of several lesser known players, such as Abdou Diallo and Colin Dagba, has been an impressive feature of his management of what can be a tricky group of personalities so far this term.

Yet while victory over Lille would be a big step towards asserting a firmer grip on the title, PSG players and Tuchel will know that their main emphasis has to be on taking the same ruthless attitude into their meeting with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Lille's Victor Osimhen looks dejected after Valencia's Dani Parejo scores their first goal on November 5, 2019© Reuters

Last season, it was Lille - not Monaco, Lyon or Marseille - who came the closest to PSG's total of 95 points, demonstrating that this is a team capable of maintaining a high level of performance.

The arrival of the highly-experienced Christophe Galtier in December 2017, midway through a season that saw Lille finish 17th, injected a new sense of purpose and design to a hitherto demoralised group of players.

Following a summer of hard work on the training ground - Lille spent less than £10m on transfers in 2018 - Galtier's men entered last season with a simple yet remarkably effective tactical blueprint revolving around a balanced counter-attacking game whereby five attacking players shoot forward in deeply organised fashion.

Now with the added burden of playing in the Champions League, Lille find themselves tasked with the fresh challenge of adopting the mentality of a big team - one that emphasises the importance of controlling games and carefully managing its resources.

As they head into the meeting with PSG, Galtier's men must take inspiration from the fact that they thrashed Tuchel's men 5-1 in April and enter this game on a level psychological playing field with the Ligue 1 champions.

Recent Paris Saint-Germain form: WWWLWW
Recent Lille form: LDWLLD


Team News

Neymar in action for PSG on September 28, 2019© Reuters

PSG continue to be without Neymar due to a hamstring problem, while Keylor Navas and Thomas Meunier are doubts for the game.

Marco Verratti has an outside chance of playing and Thilo Kehrer is back in training, although Ander Herrera, Mbappe and Loic Mbe Soh are all definitely ruled out.

Lille, on the other hand, have no injured players who are likely to return in time for this affair.

Youngsters Jonathan Ikone, Saad Agouzoul, Timothy Weah and Boubakary Soumare all picked up injuries earlier this month and there is no timescale on when they might return.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Rico; Dagba, Diallo, Silva, Kurzawa; Marquinhos, Gueye; Sarabia, Draxler, Di Maria; Cavani

Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Gabriel, Mandava; Xeka, Andre; Bamba, Yazici, Araujo; Osimhen


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Lille

Lille are currently experiencing a patch of poor form, winning just one of their last six games, and will not have enough power to keep at bay a ruthless PSG side who have scored eight goals in their last two Ligue 1 games at home.



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Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring for PSG on January 27, 2019
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Olympic medal table header
CountryGold medalSilver MedalBronze MedalT
ChinaChina24141351
United StatesUnited States20231659
JapanJapan175931
AustraliaAustralia1431431
Olympics flagOlympic Athletes from Russia12191344
Great BritainGreat Britain10101232
Today's Olympic highlights header

Monday's key events


ATHLETICS
· There are no Brits in the women's 100m hurdles final, but Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, fresh from breaking the Olympic record in the semis, will hope to pip world record holder Kendra Harrison to gold (3.50am)
· The women's 5000m final also has no Team GB representation, but two-time world champion Hellen Obiri of Kenya will be looking to add an Olympic gold to her list of honours (1.40pm)

SAILING
· The women's skiff 49er FX (6.33am) and men's skiff 49er (7.33am) come to their conclusion, with Team GB involved in both medal races

FOOTBALL
· A place in the women's gold medal match is up for grabs, starting with an all-North American semi-final between United States and Canada (9am)
· Australia, who edged past Team GB's in a seven-goal quarter-final thriller, take on Sweden in the second semi-final (12pm)

CYCLING
· The track cycling schedule gets underway, with Team GB holding a particular interest in the team pursuit qualifying. Laura Kenny is part of the women's team (7.54am), while the men's team includes Ed Clancy (9.02am)

ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS
· The Gadirova twins Jessica and Jennifer will both take part in the women's floor final as they look to add to their team bronze (9.57am)

WEIGHTLIFTING
· Newly-crowned European champion Emily Campbell flies the flag for Great Britain in the women's +87kg, but faces stiff competition for medals from China's Li Wenwen and New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard (11.50am)

HOCKEY
· The women's hockey quarter-finals begin, with Team GB last up against Spain (1pm)

> Today's schedule in full
Todays Game Header Right
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Angers00000000
2Bordeaux00000000
3Brest00000000
4Clermont00000000
5Lens00000000
6Lille00000000
7Lorient00000000
8Metz00000000
9MonacoMonaco00000000
10Montpellier HSCMontpellier00000000
11NantesNantes00000000
12Nice00000000
13Lyon00000000
14Marseille00000000
15Paris Saint-GermainPSG00000000
16Reims00000000
17Rennes00000000
18Saint-EtienneSt Etienne00000000
19StrasbourgStrasbourg00000000
20Troyes00000000

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