Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain will be seeking to maintain their perfect start to the new campaign when they travel to Reims on Sunday evening.
Recent reports have claimed that summer signing Lionel Messi is set to make his eagerly-awaited debut for the Parisian outfit at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II.
Match preview
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PSG continued their strong start to Ligue 1 as they followed up their 4-2 win at home to Strasbourg with a victory by the same scoreline away at Brest last weekend.
Ander Herrera, Idrissa Gueye and Angel Di Maria all got their names on the scoresheet, as did Kylian Mbappe, who may have played his final game for the club as his dream move to Real Madrid edges ever closer.
Mauricio Pochettino will be delighted with the way his side have begun the new campaign, particularly without South American superstars Neymar and Messi, who have been watching on from the stands. Both players, however, are training with the first team and are in contention to play this weekend.
With their main rivals in Lille, Lyon and Monaco already showing signs of weakness, PSG are the firm favourites to reclaim their crown as France's finest.
Pochettino's men currently sit top of the table on goal difference with maximum points from their three games, scoring 10 goals in the process.
A flurry of goals are to be expected from the Parisian outfit once again this weekend against Reims, who they have scored exactly four goals against in three of their last six league meetings.
PSG are unbeaten in their last 10 Ligue 1 matches on the road – winning nine times in the process – their longest away spell without defeat in the top flight since a run of 17 between February 2018 and January 2019.
Success on Sunday is expected for Pochettino and co though the potential appearance of Messi is set to eclipse whatever result is claimed at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II.
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After losing two of their opening three Ligue 1 games last season, Reims have started the 2021-22 campaign undefeated, albeit with three consecutive draws.
A goalless stalemate on the opening day against Nice and an entertaining 3-3 draw at home to Montpellier were followed by last weekend's 1-1 draw away at Metz.
Marshall Munetsi headed in the opening goal in the seventh minute, however it was quickly cancelled out by a brilliant 25-yard strike from Metz midfielder Habib Maiga in the 14th minute.
Both sides were eventually forced to share the spoils, which extended Reims' unwanted winless league run to 11 matches. This poor record is their longest such run since going 15 games without a win between October 2012 and February 2013.
Oscar Garcia is now preparing his side for a daunting fixture against PSG, a side who they have lost against in each of their last three meetings by an aggregate of 9-0.
Reims also head into Sunday's clash with a poor record on home soil, having failed to win any of their last 10 Ligue 1 games at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II.
A surprise triumph against PSG would see them claim their first victory since March as well as their first home win since January.
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Team News
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With the return of a few key players, Pochettino is likely to make changes to his PSG side that beat Brest last weekend.
Both Messi and Neymar are in line to make their first appearances on Sunday and be reunited in the same team for the first time since 2017 when they were at Barcelona.
The South American duo are set to replace Real Madrid-bound Mbappe and Mauro Icardi, with the latter the latest name ruled out with an injury, joining Sergio Ramos and Colin Dagba on the treatment table. Gueye and Layvin Kurzawa, meanwhile, are both doubtful and will be assessed before kickoff.
Juan Bernat is finally close to a return from his long-term knee injury but is not ready just yet, so Abdou Diallo is expected to continue at left-back, with summer signing Achraf Hakimi to start at right-back.
Brazilian defender Marquinhos and new recruit Gianluigi Donnarumma should be in contention to start this weekend, after both players returned to the matchday squad against Brest. The latter however is set to remain on the bench behind current number one Keylor Navas.
As for Reims, they were dealt a huge blow after Arber Zeneli suffered a cruciate ligament rupture on the eve of the opening match, with the 26-year-old now at risk of missing the entire season.
Garcia is also set to be without Fraser Hornby, Moussa Doumbia and Anastasios Donis due to injury, with the trio still a few weeks away from returning to first-team action.
Ghislain Konan returned from injury last weekend and is set to start ahead of Bradley Locko at left wing-back, with Thomas Foket expected to continue on the opposite flank.
Nineteen-year-old forward El Bilal Toure started as the central striker for the first time this season against Metz, and he could remain in this role ahead of Hugo Ekitike and Nathanael Mbuku, who are set to begin on the bench once again.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Gravillon, Faes, Abdelhamid; Foket, Cassama, Munetsi, Konan; Cafaro, Kebbal; Toure
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Diallo; Gueye; Herrera, Verratti; Wijnaldum; Neymar, Messi
We say: Reims 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Despite the impending departure of Mbappe to Spain, there will still be too much talent on show for PSG, who are red hot favourites this weekend.
Their fixture against Reims is seemingly a good match on paper for both Messi and Neymar to get back up to speed and find their form in front of goal.
Pochettino's men possess greater quality in every position and they should have no problems in claiming all three points on their travels.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
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 67.66%. A draw had a probability of 18.9% and a win for Reims had a probability of 13.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 0-2 with a probability of 11.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.34%) and 1-2 (9.77%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.92%), while for a Reims win it was 1-0 (4.07%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with an 11.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-2 win for Paris Saint-Germain in this match.
