France - Ligue 1
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Played
April 29, 2012 8:00 PM BST
Stadium Nord Lille Métropole — Villeneuve d'Ascq
Referee:‬ P. Vileo‎
Attendance:‬ 17262‎
 
71′ (PG) Eden Hazard
Javier Pastore 48′
79′ Nolan Roux
 

Lille – Paris Saint-Germain Preview: Hosts looking to disrupt the visitors' Ligue 1 title chances

Third play second in northern France, with the pressure particularly on the away side after they watched Montpellier pick up three more points on Friday night

By Robin Bairner

More On :  LOSC Lille Métropole, Paris Saint-Germain, LOSC Lille Métropole vs Paris Saint-Germain
Ligue 1 : Carlo Ancelotti & Kevin Gameiro (Paris SG)
Panoramic
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

LILLE

Landreau
Debuchy, Chedjou, Basa, Digne
Balmont, Mavuba, Pedretti
Cole, De Melo, Hazard
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

Sirigu
Jallet, Alex, Bisevac, Maxwell
Thiago Motta, Sissoko, Matuidi
Menez, Nene
Pastore

Lille will have a fully-fit squad of players to select from, with Rudi Garcia’s plans disrupted only by suspensions to versatile defender Franck Beria and central midfielder Idrissa Gueye, which opens the door to the fit-again Florent Balmont to return to the team. Teenage left-back Lucas Digne, who has featured regularly of late, will slot into the defence.

The forward line will likely be very fluid, with only Eden Hazard certain to start of this trio. Dimitri Payet and Nolan Roux could quite feasibly take the places of Joe Cole and Tulio de Melo.

PSG are unlikely to make too many alterations after their crushing victory over Sochaux last weekend. Despite playing without a recognised striker, they scored six times at the Parc des Princes, with their advanced three gelling brilliantly. Carlo Ancelotti will look for more of the same.

The Italian will sweat on the fitness of Maxwell and Clement Chantome until the last moment, but he is boosted by the return of Mohamed Sissoko after suspension, and the former Juventus man is liable to feature from the outset.


  DID YOU KNOW?
  • With 39 goals to their credit, Lille are France’s most prolific side when playing in home matches.

  • Les Dogues only have the fifth-best home record in Ligue 1, though.

  • On the 12 occasions they have scored the opening goal when playing at the Stade Lille-Metropole, they have gone on to win eight times, remaining undefeated this season in this regard.

  • Three of their last four home matches against PSG have ended scoreless, with the other resulting in a 3-1 victory to the hosts.

  • PSG have only won away to Lille three times in 34 trips.

  • They have the second-best away record in Ligue 1 this season, having won 28 points on the road.

  • No club in France can match the tally of 63 goals scored by PSG so far this term.

  • Last weekend’s 6-1 win over Sochaux was their biggest and arguably their most impressive of the season.

  • Kevin Gameiro has scored eight of his 11 Ligue 1 goals for PSG away from home, yet he is unlikely to see much action on Sunday.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • LOSC Lille Métropole 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
    17.54 %
  • LOSC Lille Métropole 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
    11.4 %
  • LOSC Lille Métropole 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain
    7.9 %
Head to Head
France - Ligue 1 ‎(FRA1)‎ Jan 27, 2013 Paris Saint-Germain 1 - LOSC Lille Métropole 0
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France - Ligue 1 ‎(FRA1)‎ Sep 2, 2012 LOSC Lille Métropole 1 - Paris Saint-Germain 2
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France - Ligue 1 ‎(FRA1)‎ Apr 29, 2012 LOSC Lille Métropole 2 - Paris Saint-Germain 1
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France - Ligue 1 ‎(FRA1)‎ Dec 18, 2011 Paris Saint-Germain 0 - LOSC Lille Métropole 0
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France - Ligue 1 ‎(FRA1)‎ May 21, 2011 Paris Saint-Germain 2 - LOSC Lille Métropole 2
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Last Five Matches
LOSC Lille Métropole
May 18, 2013Montpellier HSC 0 - LOSC Lille Métropole 0FRA1
May 10, 2013LOSC Lille Métropole 3 - Stade de Reims 0FRA1
May 4, 2013Toulouse FC 4 - LOSC Lille Métropole 2FRA1
Apr 26, 2013LOSC Lille Métropole 3 - FC Sochaux 3FRA1
Apr 21, 2013SC Bastia 1 - LOSC Lille Métropole 2FRA1
Paris Saint-Germain
May 18, 2013Paris Saint-Germain 3 - Stade Brestois 29 1FRA1
May 12, 2013Olympique Lyonnais 0 - Paris Saint-Germain 1FRA1
May 5, 2013Paris Saint-Germain 1 - Valenciennes FC 1FRA1
Apr 28, 2013Evian Thonon Gaillard 0 - Paris Saint-Germain 1FRA1
Apr 21, 2013Paris Saint-Germain 3 - OGC Nice 0FRA1
Odds
Returns: Lille £21.00 PaddyPower Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets
Returns: Draw £100.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: PSG £560.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
-Mickaël LandreauGoalkeeper
2Mathieu DebuchyDefender
3Lucas DigneDefender
22A. ChedjouDefender
25Marko BasaDefender
4Florent BalmontMidfielder
17Eden HazardMidfielder
17Benoit PedrettiMidfielder
24Rio Antonio MavubaMidfielder
7Dimitri PayetStriker
9De MeloStriker
1Vincent EnyeamaGoalkeeper
14David RozehnalDefender
21Laurent BonnartDefender
-Mauro CettoDefender
10Joe ColeMidfielder
-Gianni BrunoStriker
26Nolan RouxStriker
30Salvatore SiriguGoalkeeper
6Milan BiševacDefender
5Siaka TiénéDefender
33AlexDefender
26Christophe JalletDefender
-Loic LandreDefender
19NenêMidfielder
14Blaise MatuidiMidfielder
-Mohamed Lamine SissokoMidfielder
27Javier PastoreMidfielder
8Thiago MottaMidfielder
19Kevin GameiroStriker
1Nicolas DouchezGoalkeeper
3Mamadou SakhoDefender
2Diego LuganoDefender
17MaxwellDefender
22Sylvain ArmandDefender
5Mathieu BodmerMidfielder
9Guillaume HoarauStriker
Players to Watch
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 17
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0

Eden Hazard was named Ligue 1’s Player of the Month for March, testament to the excellent form of the Belgian. Despite being watched by many of Europe’s biggest clubs, he’s not flinched at all under the pressure, with his level of quality actually rising over the course of the campaign. With 16 goals this season, he’s more than doubled his previous best tally, yet he also remains a player who is willing to create for others. This could be his last great hurrah for les Dogues before a summer move.

Javier Pastore
Javier Pastore
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 27
Games Goals YC RC
33 4 2 0

Javier Pastore was signed as the poster boy for PSG last summer. After an explosive start to life in Paris, the Argentine faded somewhat, yet last weekend against Sochaux he was back to his very best again, playing a key role in the club’s thumping 6-1 victory. If he can recapture that form, the Argentine could lead Carlo Ancelotti’s side to three points in Lille that could come to define their season.

Prediction

Sunday’s game is likely make-or-break for PSG, as a five-point gap to Montpellier would likely be too great to make up over the course of four matches at the end of the campaign. Ancelotti’s side simply have to win. Last weekend’s performance is certainly encouraging, but Lille are a strong force at home and are in great form of their own. Rudi Garcia’s men are, therefore, tipped to strike a crucial blow into PSG’s title hopes.

Editor's Prediction
Lille 3
PSG 1
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Striker
PSG 		30 4
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Striker
AS Saint-Etienne 		19 1
Darío Cvitanich Darío Cvitanich
Striker
OGC Nice 		18 5
Bafetimbi Gomis Bafetimbi Gomis
Striker
Lyon 		16 4
Anthony Modeste Anthony Modeste
Striker
SC Bastia 		15 3