Lorient VS Paris Saint Germain (PSG) - France Ligue 1 Match Preview

Match Time：1/31/2021 22:00 Sunday  (GMT+8)

France Ligue 1 --  Lorient   VS   Paris Saint Germain (PSG)

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Paris Saint-Germain will be aiming to cement their position atop the Ligue 1 rankings when they travel to relegation-threatened Lorient for Sunday's top-flight fixture. The hosts, meanwhile, are down in 19th but did manage to overcome fellow strugglers Dijon in a thrilling 3-2 victory on Wednesday evening.

 

Match preview

Scenes of unbridled delirium followed Lorient's dramatic victory over Dijon in midweek, as Christophe Pelissier's men returned to action for the first time since their devastating coronavirus outbreak.Both teams seemed destined to walk away with a share of the spoils, but in the sixth minute of added time in the second half, Dijon goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi saved a header from Andreaw Gravillon before slipping over the line with the ball in his hands.Les Merlus are unlikely to get a more fortuitous goal before the season finishes, but for a team fighting relegation after recovering from a major COVID-19 cluster, it does not matter how they go in.Lorient's first victory since December 13 was not enough to lift them out of the danger zone, but they are now level on points with 18th-placed Dijon and Nantes are only three points clear of Pelissier's men - who have a game in hand over most of the sides above them.With the prospect of more players returning from illness in the coming days, Les Merlus can start to believe that an improbable escape from the drop zone could be on the cards, but they are now facing a free-scoring PSG having already shipped 40 goals in the current campaign. PSG were given a helping hand early on against Montpellier as goalkeeper Jonas Omlin was sent off for hauling down Kylian Mbappe, but the champions did not rest on their laurels as they stormed to a 4-0 win over the below-par Paillade.Mbappe netted a brace to take his tally up to 14 for the season, while Neymar and Mauro Icardi also got in on the act as Mauricio Pochettino's men returned to the top of the pile.The capital outfit could be knocked off their perch on Friday if Lyon manage to get the better of Bordeaux, but so long as Pochettino's side avoid a catastrophe against Lorient, they will be leading the way by the close of play in gameweek 22.PSG have marched to victory in their last four games across all competitions and have only conceded one goal in their last seven top-flight matches - keeping clean sheets in their last three - and unsurprisingly, no team can boast more than the champions' 48 goals so far this season.Atletico Madrid are the one team who have shipped fewer goals than PSG in the top five leagues this season, and with Keylor Navas already boasting 11 clean sheets to his name, Bordeaux's Benoit Costil is the only other Ligue 1 keeper with the same number of shut-outs so far.PSG would also make it 11 wins in a row against Lorient should they come up trumps this weekend, and the champions eased to a 2-0 win over their opponents at the Parc des Princes earlier in the season.

 

Lorient Ligue 1 form: LLDLLW

 

Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 form: DWDWWW

Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions): WDWWWW

 

Team News

Most of Lorient's COVID-affected players returned on Wednesday evening, but Paul Nardi and Vincent Le Goff are still recovering from the virus, and their involvement this weekend is uncertain.Armand Lauriente returns from suspension to bolster Pelissier's attacking options, and the Merlus manager must assess whether his returning players are ready for 180 minutes in the space of a week.Should the hosting manager shuffle the pack so as not to take any risks with his recovered players, Laurent Abergel, Enzo Le Fee and Julien Laporte are ready to be called upon.While Montpellier shot-stopper Omlin was sent off against PSG, Navas was also forced to call it quits at half time due to injury, so Sergio Rico may be forced to deputise this weekend.Marquinhos suffered a knock in the same match and may not be risked ahead of an extremely busy February, so Thilo Kehrer could come in to the rearguard with Presnel Kimpembe out of favour.Colin Dagba continues to recover from a positive coronavirus test while Ander Herrera is nursing a muscular problem, but Pochettino has a wealth of experience on the bench from which to call upon.

 

Lorient possible starting lineup: Dreyer; Delaplace, Laporte, Gravillon, Morel; Lauriente, Le Fee, Chalobah, Wissa; Hamel, Moffi

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup: Rico; Florenzi, Diallo, Kehrer, Kurzawa; Verratti, Paredes; Di Maria, Neymar, Mbappe; Icardi

 

Lorient VS Paris Saint-Germain

Lorient 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain