Preview: Paris Saint-Germain vs Lille - prediction, team news, lineups

Paris Saint-Germain can temporarily reclaim first place in Ligue 1 with a victory on Friday over Lille from the Parc des Princes.

Heading into this contest, the Parisian side are a point below Lens in the table despite beating Paris FC 2-1 in their previous league fixture, while Lille are fourth after a 2-0 home defeat versus Rennes.

Match preview

Their reign as Coupe de France champions ended in stunning fashion on Monday, with PSG losing 1-0 to Paris FC and ending a four-match scoring run in the process.

We will see on Friday how they respond as they seek to avoid suffering consecutive competitive defeats for the first time all season.

Luis Enrique’s men have won four straight Ligue 1 encounters at the Parc des Princes while dropping points in only one of their last nine home games in this competition.

So far this season, they have given up a goal or fewer in all but one of their league contests in the French capital, posting six clean sheets at home in this competition.

They have not lost any of their first two top-flight affairs to begin a calendar year since Lens beat them 1-0 on New Year’s Day in 2023.

The French giants have emerged victorious in their previous four meetings against their upcoming opponents, winning this exact fixture last season by a 4-1 score.

Early into 2026, Lille have not exactly picked up where they left off heading into the holiday season, losing their only two games so far this year.

Bruno Genesio’s team had won six of their final seven competitive fixtures at the end of 2025, putting them in the title conversation at that time.

As things stand, they are eight points below the leaders heading into matchday 18, and in danger of suffering three successive defeats for the first time in 2025-26.

This team have netted a goal or fewer in their last three competitive affairs but have also scored three or more times on three occasions in this competition.

On the other hand, Lille have won their previous two league outings away from home, and could collect four successive road victories on Friday for the first time since February to March 2022.

Les Dogues can also take points in consecutive Ligue 1 outings against PSG for the first time since their title-winning campaign in 2020-21, collecting a 1-1 result the last time they met them in Lille earlier this season.

Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 form:

Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):

Lille Ligue 1 form:

Lille form (all competitions):

Team News

Due to a hand injury, Les Parisiens will be missing Matvey Safonov for this match, Lee Kang-in is doubtful with a thigh strain, Quentin Ndjantou Mbitcha has a sore hamstring and Achraf Hakimi is away with Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele both found the back of the net on matchday 17, with the reigning Ballon d’Or winner notching the winner two minutes after Paris FC had drawn level.

A knock is likely to keep Ethan Mbappe Lottin on the Lille sidelines Friday, Ousmane Toure has a cruciate ligament injury, while Marc-Aurele Caillard is doubtful because of an elbow issue.

Romain Perraud and Alexsandro are suspended for this game, while Nathan Ngoy is eligible to return from his red card suspension.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:

Chevalier; Zaire-Emery, Zbarnyi, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Doue, Dembele, Mayulu

Lille possible starting lineup:

Ozer; Meunier, Mbemba, Mandi, Verdonk; Andre, Bentaleb; Correia, Haraldsson, Fernandez-Pardo; Giroud

We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Lille

It rarely takes PSG long to recover after a tough loss, and we expect they will be back to their best against a Lille side that have had trouble creating chances at the Parc des Princes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.