OUR man in France is Julien Laurens and he's looking at the Friday night game.
Julien is a London-based sports correspondent for Le Parisien and a veritable French football expert. He writes in French and English for a number of esteemed publications and is a regular on BT Sport as well as contributing to Unibet.
Here he previews Saturday's match between Troyes and PSG.
Troyes vs PSG (4pm, Sat)
PSG travel to Troyes on Saturday afternoon just four days before their huge clash against holders Real Madrid in the Champions League. The league leaders have just beaten their arch rivals Marseille twice in four days in the league last Sunday (3-0) and in the Cup in midweek by the same score.
The bad news is Neymar got injured last weekend and is out for the rest of the season. It is a huge blow for PSG. He had been outstanding this season, albeit a bit too individual at times. He will fill a huge gap in the team but it could also make the squad more united and bring the players even more together.
They are huge favourites going into this game in Troyes. They will be already thinking about the clash with Madrid next week but will want to prepare it with a good performance this weekend. Kylian Mbappe is a doubt as well and could be rested after getting a knock on his ankle in midweek.
Dani Alves is back from suspension though. Angel di Maria will start up front instead of Neymar. The Argentine has scored 10 goals in his last 10 starts for PSG.
The Parisians won 9-0 the last time they travelled to Troyes in the league, two seasons ago. They have not lost there since 2001 and have the best away record in the league this season so far.
On the other hand, Troyes are fighting against relegation. They are 18th in the table, just a point clear of Lille in 19th. They have won only one of their last six matches in all competitions. Charles Traoré was sent off last weekend against Rennes and will miss this game while Adama Niane is only just back in the squad.
They have no pressure before this game as no one expects them to get something out of it. They are ready to fight and make it really difficult for Paris. However, I don’t think Troyes will even get a point. Paris SG will win. I think Angel Di Maria will score first at 4.80. My best bet is Paris to win both halves at 2.80.
Julien's Tips
- Troyes 0, PSG 3 (15-2, Unibet)
- Angel di Maria to score first (19-5, Unibet)
- PSG to win both halves (9-5, Unibet)
