Ligue 1 returns on Friday night in the French capital as leaders PSG welcome third-placed Strasbourg to the Parc des Princes in what should be an entertaining affair.
PSG made the perfect start to their title defence, as they won each of their opening four Ligue 1 clashes this season, before they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the Velodrome against rivals Marseille.
Luis Enrique’s men bounced back from that defeat as they secured a 2-0 success at home to Auxerre, but dropped points once again on their travels, as a late Ethan Mbappe strike (brother of former hero Kylian) earned Lille a 1-1 draw against the champions, on an evening our man Vladislav landed a couple of winners.
Nevertheless, that point took the Parisians top of the table courtesy of Lyon’s late collapse at home to Toulouse, where they are a point clear of Lyon, Marseille and visitors Strasbourg.
Strasbourg began their Ligue 1 campaign with back-to-back 1-0 victories away at Metz and home to Nantes, before being on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller in the Principality against Monaco.
Liam Rosenior’s young side bounced back with wins over Le Havre and newly-promoted Paris FC, but then suffered another agonising late defeat at home to Marseille.
Nevertheless, Les Bleu et Blanc once again bounced back from defeat in emphatic fashion last time out, as they thrashed Angers 5-0 to move a point off the summit.
How the bookies view it: PSG favourites
Luis Enrique’s hosts come into this clash as clear favourites to maintain their 100% record at the Parc des Princes, with BoyleSports pricing the hosts at just 1/4.
The visitors are 15/2 with the same firm to leave the French capital with all three points, whilst the draw is 9/2.
Head to head: Parisian dominance
PSG have won eight of their previous 11 meetings between these two clubs, including their last six in the French capital.
However, Strasbourg did win the most recent meeting, as they claimed a famous 2-1 at the Stade de la Meinau at the start of May.
Players to Watch: Barcola to bag against Strasbourg again?
Bradley Barcola has already struck three times in Ligue 1 for the French champions, including both goals in their 2-0 win against Lens at home in the middle of last month.
The ex-Lyon winger also scored in both meetings with Strasbourg last season, and is an appealing 6/5 at Bet365 to score against the Alsace outfit once again on Friday.
Predicted line-ups:
Luis Enrique will still be without Ousmane Dembele and captain Marquinhos, but Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz are expected to be available again.
Strasbourg will also be without their captain, as Emanuel Emegha is injured, as is Chelsea loanee Mamadou Sarr.
Paris Saint-Germain: Chevalier, Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, Mendes, Vitinha, Neves, Ruiz, Doue, Kvaratskhelia, Barcola
Strasbourg: Penders, Doue, Hogsberg, Doukoure, Ouattara, Barco, El Mourabet, Godo, Lemarechal, Moreira, Panichelli
Anything else catch the eye?
PSG have yet to concede at home this season, keeping clean sheets in victories against Angers, Lens and Auxerre, but with captain Marquinhos missing, I’m not convinced they’ll keep out an in-form Strasbourg attack.
Liam Rosenior’s visitors have made the net bulge in all seven of their Ligue 1 encounters this term, firing in 14 goals.
What’s more, this has been a high-scoring fixture in recent seasons, with the last 10 meetings between the pair averaging a whopping 4.10 goals per game, with nine (90%) seeing Over 2.5 Goals land, whilst eight of the previous nine have featured goals at both ends.
Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals landed in both meetings last season (4-2 & 2-1), and a repeat pays 11/10 at BoyleSports, which appeals to me.
GambleAware