Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Expect an electrifying atmosphere at Stade Pierre-Mauroy when Lille and PSG square off against each other in the Ligue 1 derby. Les Dogues aim to keep their 100% record intact, but they will have a big fish to fry against the reigning champions. As Lille head into Sunday’s showdown following the Champions League clash with Slavia Prague, home win should not be considered. Influential midfielder Edon Zhegrova is back from suspension, while all Ismaily, Angel Gomes, and Samuel Umtiti miss out with injuries. Nabil Bentaleb has been struggling with illness of late.
Les Parisiens, on the other hand, aim to build on back-to-back wins over Le Havre (4-1) and Montpellier (6-0). Lille, though, are tough to beat at home, and we do not believe that Ousmane Dembele and Co. are capable of grabbing more than one point from the Ligue 1 derby. Both Goncalo Ramos and Presnel Kimpembe are out of contention with injuries for the title holders.
Highlighted Player (Benjamin André):
Benjamin Andre is a French footballer, who began his career at Stade Raphaelois youth team. At the age of 16 Andre moved to Ajaccio and he played for the first team from 2008 to 2014. The right-footed midfielder scored 12 goals in 187 appearances in the league for the Corsican team and in the summer of 2014 he moved to fellow French club Rennes.
Andre scored his first goal for les Rouges et Noirs on January 25, 2015, in a 4-1 defeat to Caen. The French player made provided three assists for his teammates in 36 appearances for Rennes in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign and the club chiefs decided to extend his contract in June, 2017. His deal with the Roazhon Park outfit should expire on June 30, 2022.
Benjamin Andre, who was born in Nice on August 3, 1990, has seven caps for France U21 team. The Rennes footballer plays as a central midfielder, but he is often used as both left and right midfielder.
Highlighted Team (PSG):
Formed by the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain in 1970, Paris Saint-Germain or as they call it PSG is the most successful club in French football with 31 domestic titles to their name. Having won six Ligue 1 title so far, a record ten Coupes de France, a record six Coupes de la Ligue, six Trophees des Champions and one Ligue 2 title, PSG are also one of only two French clubs to ever win a European title.
Les Parisiens were crowned UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup champions back in 1995-96, while their last European trophy was the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Beginning of the new millennium was particularly hard for the celebrated club who flirted with relegation in 2000s before they were bought by the Quatar Sports Investments group in 2011 when the rebirth of the Paris Saint-Germain as we know it today began.
Following heavy squad investments and team boosting, PSG won their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years with Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic almost singlehandedly leading his side towards the trophy with 30 goals. Having established domestic dominance, PSG now set their sights on winning the Champions League which remains an elusive dream for the club from Paris.