Paris SG vs Lille prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-02-18 12:00.
After another dreary performance in a 1-0 UEFA Champions League (UCL) defeat to Bayern Munich, PSG may well have entered crisis mode after a third consecutive loss across all competitions. The French champions have already lost as many games in 2023 (five) as they did in 2022, and are looking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat in the same season for the first time since 2000! Manager Christophe Galtier admitted his side are going through a âdifficult periodâ, but such has been their previous dominance that the Parisians still retained a five-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit ahead of this round.
Galtier – who led opponents Lille to the Ligue 1 title back in 2020/21 – may at least welcome Kylian MbappĂ© back from injury, and MbappĂ© would be the last player his former club would want to see as the forward opened the scoring within ten seconds in this seasonâs reverse fixture – a thumping 7-1 win for the league leaders. PSG may exercise caution knowing Lille were the last side to beat them in a Ligue 1 game at the Parc des Princes though, although that did come back in April 2021 (W28, D5).
The Mastiffs may be confident of repeating that act after making up lost ground on the European places since the restart, losing just one of their eight league games in that time (W4, D3). Paulo Fonsecaâs men sat just six points adrift of the UEFA Champions League positions ahead of this round, a gap they could reduce further by securing back-to-back away league victories for just the second time this season.
To do that, Lille will need to have vanquished the demons of their last two meetings with PSG, which they lost by an aggregate score of 12-2! However neither of those were played in the French capital, and playing away has certainly suited Fonsecaâs side this term with only three sides winning more games on the road in Ligue 1 this term, while only Marseille have conceded fewer than their ten goals.
Players to watch: Neymar ran riot in this seasonâs reverse fixture, contributing to five goals (G2, A3). Lilleâs main weapon could be Jonathan David, who netted a brace against Strasbourg last round. David has also scored two goals across seven personal H2Hs with PSG (W2, D1, L4).
Hot stat: No side has scored as many goals between the 76th minute and full-time as PSG (14) this Ligue 1 season.