In a true test of Lille's Ligue 1 title credentials, the current league leaders welcome reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy for Sunday evening's top-of-the-table clash.
PSG currently sit one place and one point below Lille in the rankings, although the standings could change depending on what happens in Lyon's clash with Nice the day before.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lille have earned every right to sit at the top of the pile heading into the festive period, and given the way that Les Dogues have been performing all season, fans would not put it past the early leaders to end PSG's reign of dominance in the top flight.
While Lille have drawn more games than they would have liked to so far, Galtier's side have prevailed in their last three top-flight outings, with 2-1 home wins over Monaco and Bordeaux preceding a straightforward 2-0 triumph at Dijon in midweek.
Yusuf Yazici and Timothy Weah got the goals in that top vs. bottom clash on Wednesday evening, with Galtier's side managing to take advantage of Lyon dropping points against Brest to rise to the summit ahead of gameweek 16.
Lille will also be partaking in one of the most highly-anticipated Europa League knockout ties as they lock horns with Ajax in the last 32, but Galtier should have pushed Les Dogues' European campaign to the back of his mind as he looks to get one over PSG in this enticing showdown.
Galtier's men are welcoming PSG to a ground where they have won six of their eight league games this term - drawing the other two - and no side has been able to stop Lille from scoring on their own turf in the 2020-21 Ligue 1 campaign.
© Reuters
PSG have already experienced a few bumps in the road this season, but Thomas Tuchel's men made no mistake against a struggling Lorient in midweek as they overcame Les Merlus 2-0 to keep pace with Lille.
The champions were helped by a controversial red card brandished to Andreaw Gravillon, but PSG did not rest on their laurels with an extra man and were indebted to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Moise Kean on the night.
The two frontmen have notched up 17 of PSG's 35 league goals this season - with Mbappe two strikes clear at the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 11 - and the duo will certainly have to keep up their prolific form in the absence of Neymar, who is thankfully not thought to have suffered a serious injury following a challenge from Lyon's Thiago Mendes.
As mentioned, Lille and PSG may be pushed down the table before this game should Lyon beat Nice on Saturday, but the victor of Sunday's showdown at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy - if there is one - will sit atop the rankings by the close of play this weekend.
Lille thrashed PSG 5-1 in this fixture back in the 2018-19 campaign, but that drubbing remains Les Dogues' only victory against the champions in their last 19 attempts across all competitions, with PSG winning 15 of those.
Lille Ligue 1 form: LWDWWW
Lille form (all competitions): DWWLWW
Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 form: WLDWLW
Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions): DWWWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Renato Sanches - who has been linked with a move to Liverpool as of late - is set for another spell on the sidelines with a thigh problem, while Luiz Araujo remains out as well.
Right-back Jeremy Pied is also struggling to shake off an injury, but the return of Zeki Celik has eased Galtier's concerns on that side of the defence.
Weah's first league goal for Lille in midweek is unlikely to be enough for him to start against his former club, but Boubakary Soumare and Burak Yilmaz will be expected to feature from the off.
The full extent of Neymar's ankle injury is yet to be determined, but the Brazilian winger will definitely miss out here, although his compatriot Marquinhos could return to the defence.
Danilo Pereira was forced off after just 11 minutes against Lorient, and the Portuguese midfielder will reportedly be out of action until 2021 with that muscular problem.
Pablo Sarabia, Mauro Icardi, Juan Bernat and Abdou Diallo are all sidelined for the champions, who have been able to welcome Julian Draxler back to the fold recently, though.
Tuchel should revert to a 4-3-3 after opting to deploy a three-man defence against Lorient, with Presnel Kimpembe, Marco Verratti, Leandro Paredes and Angel Di Maria all looking good for recalls to the team.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Reinildo; Ikone, Andre, Soumare, Bamba; Yazici, Yilmaz
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Bakker; Gueye, Verratti, Paredes; Di Maria, Kean, Mbappe
We say: Lille 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain
PSG never really got going against Lorient until Gravillon was sent for an early bath, and the champions have not looked their usual dominant selves in recent weeks. Tuchel's side can never be underestimated even without Neymar, but Lille are leading the way for a reason and ought to feel confident about their chances of coming out on top. However, we ultimately cannot separate the two sides and expect the title rivals to play out a closely-fought draw, with that point for Lille surely enough to see them remain at the top of the rankings.
Top betting tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Paris Saint-Germain win with a probability of 55.29%. A draw had a probability of 22.5% and a win for Lille had a probability of 22.16%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.59%) and 0-2 (8.96%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.56%), while for a Lille win it was 2-1 (5.81%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.1% likelihood.
