Champions-elect Paris Saint-Germain have the opportunity to seal the Ligue 1 title if they can avoid defeat at home to Angers this weekend.
Luis Enrique‘s side are a whopping 21 points clear at the top with just seven games remaining, having remained unbeaten domestically all season.
Match preview
© Iconsport
The Ligue 1 title race is all over bar the shouting, with PSG on course to clinch their 13th French crown this weekend.
Only seven defeats and seven Monaco wins along with a huge goal difference swing can stop them, meaning it is all but decided.
PSG could have had it sewn up last weekend if it was not for Monaco’s late winner against Nice, but the 21-point gap to the club from the principality in second is the second-largest ever seen at this stage of Ligue 1 season, after the same two clubs were separated by 24 points in 2015-16.
The quadruple looks like it is on for Enrique’s men, especially after they reached the final of the Coupe de France in midweek after being given a massive scare by Ligue 2 Dunkerque.
PSG found themselves 2-0 down midway through the first half, but eventually rallied to take their spot in the final, winning 4-2 in western France, and another success here will set them up perfectly for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Aston Villa in midweek.
Last weekend’s 6-1 thrashing of Saint-Etienne with a rotated side saw PSG equal their longest unbeaten start to a campaign (27), offering them the chance to break that club record this time around, and they could not have asked for better opponents.
The Parisians have won 15 league games in a row against Angers – the longest winning streak one club has enjoyed over another in the competition’s history.
Since 2016, Angers have made the trip to the Parc des Princes nine times, losing on each occasion and conceding 31 goals in the process.
The hosts are utterly dominant at home to newly-promoted sides in general, not suffering defeat in 36 games against any since before the Qatari takeover in 2010.
© IconSport
Angers’ prospects of challenging that record appear slim, considering they have lost four league games in a row without scoring, ever since going out of the Coupe de France on penalties to Reims.
Losing a fifth in succession while drawing a blank for the first time since 1980 is expected here, and it may also pull them further into trouble, after wins for Le Havre and Reims last weekend closed the gap between Angers and the sides below them.
Alexandre Dujeux‘s side were odds-on favourites to relegation before the season, but they performed well in the middle part of the season to move away from danger.
However, woeful form since the end of January has dragged them back into the scrap to avoid an instant return to Ligue 2, as they start the weekend in 14th, just three points above Le Havre in the relegation playoff spot.
Team News
© Imago
Senny Mayulu will be available again for PSG after suspension, and that will be useful for Enrique, who will be looking to rotate as much as possible with the Villa quarter-final rapidly on the horizon.
Enrique picked a strong team for the cup tie against Dunkerque on Tuesday, so the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Bradley Barcola could be given a rest here, before returning in midweek.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia should be fine to return from a brief illness, so Lee Kang-in is set to be the only player currently sidelined with injury for the hosts, as the South Korean international is still nursing an ankle problem.
Angers will have midfielder Himad Abdelli back from suspension here after he missed the defeat at home to Rennes last weekend.
However, defenders Halid Sabanovic, Cedric Hountondji and Emmanuel Biumla are set to remain out, along with Adrien Hunou, who has missed most of the current campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Safonov; Zaire-Emery, Lucas Beraldo, Pacho, Hernandez; Joao Neves, Fabian Ruiz, Doue; Mbaye, Goncalo Ramos, Kvaratskhelia
Angers possible starting lineup:
Fofana; Arcus, Bamba, Lefort, Hanin; Allevinah, Aholou, Belkebla, Abdelli, El Melali; Lepaul
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 6-0 Angers
PSG will be crowned French champions this weekend, and even though there should be heavy rotation with the Villa game in mind, they are capable of another six-goal salvo like they managed last weekend.
The hosts have kept just three clean sheets in their last 24 home league games, but only bottom-of-the-table Montpellier (21) have scored fewer goals than Angers (26) this season, and the visitors have fired a blank in their last four games, falling to defeat in each of them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
