Inching ever closer to their customary Ligue 1 title, Paris Saint-Germain aim to take another giant step towards glory when they welcome Lorient to the Parc des Princes on Sunday afternoon.
Les Parisiens more or less consigned Angers to their fate with a 2-1 triumph last weekend, while Les Merlus were defeated 1-0 at home by Toulouse.
Match preview
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In what many expected to be a foregone conclusion from the first whistle, the meeting between champions-elect PSG and an almost-relegated Angers unsurprisingly ended with the former taking all the spoils, but it was a far-from-comfortable affair for Christophe Galtier's team.
Kylian Mbappe had a brace to his name by the 26-minute mark - setting a new record for Ligue 1 goal contributions in the process - but Sada Thioub set up a nail-biting finale at the Stade Raymond Kopa with a consolation in the 87th minute.
There would be no sensational comeback for the cellar-dwelling Scoistes, though, and with Lens and Marseille both prevailing last weekend too, 75-point PSG remain eight clear of Les Olympiens at the summit of the table with just six games left to play.
Galtier's men are therefore unable to wrap up the title this weekend, but the capital club - who enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak in Ligue 1 - should experience few difficulties en route to yet another domestic crown in the coming weeks; one that will only marginally mask the disappointment of another Champions League failure, though.
PSG could even wrap up the title next weekend if results around them go their way, but the next task on Galtier's agenda is ending a slightly alarming seven-game home run without a clean sheet in Ligue 1, having only shut out Angers at the Parc des Princes in 2023 so far.
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Perhaps lifting their foot off the gas as they take a gentle stroll towards the finish line in Ligue 1, Lorient's unsightly winless run stretched to five games when Coupe de France finalists Toulouse paid a visit to the Stade du Moustoir last weekend.
A 68th-minute strike from Zakaria Aboukhlal was all that could separate the two evenly-matched sides on the day, as Regis Le Bris's side fell to a third defeat from four games in the top flight, but Les Merlus are not fighting for anything other than pride in the final few weeks anyway.
Remarkably mounting an early charge for the European places in the embryonic stages of the campaign, Les Merlus have since experienced an unsurprising drop-off to lie 11th in the table, still mathematically closer to the European spots than the four-team relegation zone.
A shock win at the Parc des Princes could confirm Lorient's top-flight status this weekend, but the visitors are in no rush to get over the line and will simply endeavour to keep the scoreline respectable in Paris, having failed to win any of their last seven away matches since a 2-1 triumph over whipping boys Angers on New Year's Day.
Lorient held their own against PSG at the Stade du Moustoir back in November but ultimately fell to a 2-1 loss, and each of their last six trips to the Parc des Princes has ended in defeat since opening the 2012-13 season with a hard-fought 2-2 draw, where Les Parisiens fell 2-0 down before being spared humiliation by a Zlatan Ibrahimovic double.
Team News
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While Neymar has now returned to the French capital to step up his recovery from ankle surgery, the Brazilian is already confirmed to be missing the remainder of the season - the same goes for Nordi Mukiele (hamstring) and Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles).
The perennially-injured Renato Sanches is also recuperating from an adductor problem and will not be back in action just yet, but Nuno Mendes (muscle) and Timothee Pembele (knee) have resumed team training, and the former has made the squad.
A fit-again Mendes will likely take the place of Juan Bernat on the left, despite the Spaniard's assist for Mbappe's opener at Angers, while Marco Verratti also started that game on the bench but will be expected to displace Carlos Soler.
As for Lorient, Le Bris has confirmed that Jean-Victor Makengo (knee) and Igor Silva (thigh) will not be available for the clash with the champions, having both sustained their knocks in the past seven days.
Theo Le Bris (thigh) and Julien Laporte (knee) are keeping their teammates company on the sidelines, but Julien Ponceau - who missed training earlier this week with an illness - should be fine to make the journey.
With Silva taking his place on the sidelines, Gedeon Kalulu will be tasked with keeping Mendes and Messi quiet at right-wing back, while Bonke Innocent will be on standby if Ponceau is not quite at 100%.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Pereira, Ramos, Marquinhos; Hakimi, Ruiz, Vitinha, Verratti, Mendes; Mbappe, Messi
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Le Goff, Meite, Talbi; Kalulu, Innocent, Abergel, Yongwa; Le Fee, Faivre; Kone
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Lorient
Galtier was understandably left far from happy with the manner of his side's win against a defensive-minded Angers, and a similar setup from Lorient will serve to frustrate the champions again.
Patience may be the name of the game for the hosts, but we have no doubt that the champions will eventually see out a professional win, potentially with a rare home clean sheet against an out-of-form Lorient side who do not travel well.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
