Paris Saint-Germain cannot confirm their status as Ligue 1 champions this weekend, but they can consign relegation-threatened AC Ajaccio to their fate when they welcome the 18th-placed outfit to the Parc des Princes on Saturday evening.
Christophe Galtier's men responded to more off-field drama with a convincing 3-1 success at Troyes last weekend, while their visitors claimed a creditable 0-0 draw against Coupe de France winners Toulouse.
Match preview
© Reuters
Not for the first time this season and potentially not the last, the PSG soap opera threatened to derail the champions' final push for glory, as Les Parisiens sent out a strong message that no player is above the club when suspending Lionel Messi for an unauthorised journey to Saudi Arabia.
A noticeably depleted and Messi-less PSG squad travelled to the Stade de l'Aube with the intention of righting the wrongs from the 3-1 home defeat to Lorient the previous weekend, and the Argentina hero's absence was hardly felt, as strikes from Kylian Mbappe, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz propelled the champions to a comfortable success - Xavier Chavalerin headed home a consolation for the visitors thanks to some questionable Gianluigi Donnarumma goalkeeping.
With Lens coming up trumps in their podium showdown with Marseille and thus leapfrogging them in the table, PSG hold a six-point lead over Les Sang et Or with four games left to play, although their advantage could be cut down to three if Lens do the business against Reims on Saturday.
Alternatively, slip-ups from their two challengers could move PSG to within one point of title glory, but the walls of the Parc des Princes fortress have almost fully disintegrated in recent weeks, as Galtier's men have shockingly lost three of their last four home games.
The holders have also failed to keep a clean sheet in nine successive matches in front of their own fans since a 2-0 success over already-relegated Angers back in January, but the visit of a shot-shy Ajaccio represents a prime opportunity to restore some defensive order.
© Reuters
Taking on a Toulouse outfit who had ruthlessly put five past then-holders Nantes in the Coupe de France final would seemingly only end one way for Ajaccio, who only enjoyed 39% possession and faced 14 shots on goal at the Stade Francois-Coty.
However, Olivier Pantaloni's beleaguered defence remained intact to glean a well-earned point from the visit of Les Violets, and while defeat would not have consigned them to their fate, that goalless draw has only delayed the inevitable as well.
With an 11-point gap to safety with just four games remaining, Ajaccio's immediate return to Ligue 2 will be confirmed unless they can pull off the shock win of all shock wins at the Parc des Princes, while also hoping that at least one of Strasbourg, Brest or Auxerre lose their respective matches.
Even if L'ours managed to add to PSG's ever-increasing tally of home defeats, the division's worst attacking side would need a major swing in goal difference in the final few weeks of the season, and facing Rennes, Lens and Marseille in their final three matches should mean that preparations for a 2023-24 promotion push are already well underway.
Pantaloni's team head to the Parc des Princes on a nine-game winless run in the top flight - failing to score in each of their last three and losing six on the bounce on the road - and it will come as little surprise to learn that PSG ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at the Stade Francois-Coty earlier this season.
Team News
© Reuters
Despite initially being slapped with a two-week club ban, PSG announced that Messi had returned to individual work at Camp des Loges on Monday after publicly apologising for his trip, and Galtier has confirmed that the 35-year-old will be back in the first XI this weekend.
Another man who will return from the naughty step is Achraf Hakimi, who served a one-match suspension last weekend for his sending-off against Lorient, but all of Nuno Mendes (hamstring), Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Neymar (ankle) and Nordi Mukiele (hamstring) remain out for the rest of the season. Timothee Pembele's participation is also in doubt due to a knee concern.
Hakimi's return should lead to a demotion for Warren Zaire-Emery, who occupied the right wing-back role at Troyes, while Galtier has hinted that Hugo Ekitike could continue up top in a front three with Messi and Mbappe.
Similarly, Ajaccio - who had three players banned last week - will re-introduce two of them for the trip to Paris, as Ismael Diallo and Mounaim El Idrissy have completed their suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards.
However, veteran striker Yoann Touzghar still has one more game of his three-match ban to serve this weekend, while Mickael Barreto and Youcef Belaili are missing due to injury and disciplinary issues respectively.
The returning El Idrissy will expect an immediate return to the final third in place of Riad Nouri, but after last week's clean sheet, Diallo is far from guaranteed to take the place of Lyon loanee Youssouf Kone at left-back.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Pereira, Marquinhos, Ramos; Hakimi, Verratti, Vitinha, Bernat; Messi, Ekitike, Mbappe
Ajaccio possible starting lineup:
Sollacaro; Youssouf, Vidal, Gonzalez, Diallo; Marchetti, Mangani, Coutadeur; Hamouma, El Idrissy, Spadanuda
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Ajaccio
Despite displaying their newfound defensive acumen during the visit of Toulouse, Ajaccio should not expect such good fortune at the Parc des Princes, where going all out for the win needed to prolong their stay could and should prove fatal.
Galtier's side have hardly been a force to be reckoned with on their own patch of late, but it should simply be a case of how many Les Parisiens can rack up, as their visitors wave goodbye to the big boys in less-than-ideal fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
