After finishing fifth in the league last season, Les Dogues will undoubtedly be looking to do even better this season. Their start to the season has been more than promising, with a resounding victory in Lorient (1-7) and two solid home wins against Monaco (1-0) and Toulouse (2-1). However, the heavy defeat in the derby at Lens (3-0) has left its mark, and even though the northerners deserved better against OL, they lost at home to Les Gones last week (0-1).
For its part, Paris Saint-Germain is moving forward again. While Les Rouge et Bleu had made an ideal start to the league season with four wins against Nantes (0-1), Angers (1-0), Toulouse (3-6) and, more recently, Lens (2-0), the capital club suffered its first setback of the season in Marseille two weeks ago (1-0). There too, the Parisians deserved better, but they bounced back last weekend with a win over Auxerre (2-0). Luis Enrique's men have 15 points and are joint leaders of Ligue 1 with Olympique Lyonnais.
1 – Paris Saint-Germain have lost only one of their last 13 Ligue 1 matches played in Lille, with nine wins and three draws.
2 – Paris and Lille are the two teams with the most shots (93 and 99) and most touches in the opposition's box (191 and 199) in Ligue 1 this season.
4 – Paris Saint-Germain have kept four clean sheets in six league matches this season, with only Olympique Lyonnais (5) having kept more in Europe's top five leagues.
100 – Vitinha could make his 100th top-flight appearance for Paris against LOSC. This season, he has made 100 forward runs with the ball at his feet, at least 26 more than any other player.
Bruno Génésio and his team could start against Paris with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Berke Özer is expected to return to goal after being replaced by Arnaud Bodart last week. It remains to be seen who will play in front of the Turkish international to form the central defence. Young Nathan Ngoy (22) has impressed the coaching staff since the start of the season and could be partnered by the experienced Chancel Mbemba. However, Aïssa Mandi, formerly of Villarreal and Betis, among others, could also be in contention for a place in central defence if he is not selected to start at right-back.
On the subject of the right side of defence, LOSC are hoping that Tiago Santos will be fit to play. Returning from injury, the Portuguese international could start against Paris, as could Thomas Meunier. On the opposite side, Calvin Verdonk has shown great promise recently, but Romain Perraud still seems to be favoured. While Lille have no shortage of options in defence, the same is true in midfield. Captain Benjamin André, who remains indispensable, is expected to return, and prodigy Ayyoub Bouaddi is the favourite to accompany him.
But competition is fierce for a place in the Dogues' midfield, where the promising Ngal'ayel Mukau could also bring his strength to the game, and Nabil Bentaleb his playmaking ability. Portuguese international André Gomes and former Parisian Ethan Mbappé seem to be starting deeper. In front of them, Hákon Arnar Haraldsson is the favourite to start against Les Rouge et Bleu in the playmaker position. The Icelandic international, who is becoming increasingly important within the northern team, could play in support of Olivier Giroud. The 2018 World Cup winner with the French national team is competing with Moroccan international Hamza Igamane for a starting place at the head of Lille's attack.
On the wings, the mercurial Matías Fernández-Pardo is obviously expected to feature, as he now seems to be LOSC's main offensive weapon. On the other side could be Moroccan international Osame Sahraoui, or the explosive Félix Correia, who arrived this summer from the Portuguese league. Less used in recent weeks, Norwegian youth international Marius Broholm could make an appearance late in the game. The Parisians have been warned: they will be facing one of the most competitive teams in our league.
