Parisiens are Streets Ahead in Ligue 1

Lyon vs Paris Saint-Germain

If anyone reading this thinks a side other than Paris St Germain will win Ligue 1 this season, please raise your hand.

No, I didn’t think so.

For such is the gulf in resources between the French champions and every other domestic competitor, they can still be below par and have enough to come out on top.

If you don’t believe me, look at the league table when they have triumphed in recent years.

Apart from last term when they finished just a point clear of Lens (although the title was sealed before the end of the campaign), the gap between PSG and their nearest rivals has read 15 points, 12 points, 16 points and 13 points. Not even close.

No wonder few give Sunday night’s opponents, Lyon, a chance of creating Ligue 1 highlights.

Talking Points

That PSG suffered a blow this week with the news Lee Kang-In will miss the game – the South Korea international is set to be sidelined until the end of the international break with a thigh injury – has barely registered.

That they have hardly set pulses racing in the early weeks of the season — a goalless stalemate with Lorient and 1-1 draw at Toulouse preceded their first victory of the season last weekend – doesn’t appear to matter either.

That they recently said farewell to a star name who has failed to fulfil his talent appears of limited concern too.

For they still have the man they reserve all their adulation for; a player who has been considered free from blame when they have stuttered in Europe in recent seasons.

Whether Kylian Mbappe stays beyond the current campaign is unclear, but the relationship with him and new boss Luis Enrique has the potential for style and success.

They face a team seemingly in crisis this weekend.

Last season Lyon finished in seventh place, which resulted in consecutive seasons outside European competition for the first time since 1995.

There were reasons for hope in the summer – no continental distractions, new American investment and some quality starters – but they have produced some feeble displays so far and have picked up only one point from their first three games.

This has not been helped by the fact that two star players have departed on free transfers with Houssem Aouar going to Roma and Moussa Dembélé joining Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

Castello Lukeba, one of the brightest young defenders in France, has signed for RB Leipzig; Romain Faivre has gone on loan to Lorient after signing for Bournemouth; and the versatile attacker Karl Toko-Ekambi has moved to Saudi Arabia, leaving manager Laurent Blanc with few options beyond his first-choice team. It shows.

When questioned about his team’s abject 4-1 home defeat to Montpellier last weekend, Blanc’s reply was flippant: “Change the coach”.

The respected Frenchman, who enjoyed success and a glut of trophies at PSG not so long ago, may be central to the crisis but he is not the main problem at a club that is at its lowest ebb for more than three decades.

Since succeeding Peter Bosz in October almost 11 months ago, Blanc has barely improved results – the team are picking up 1.71 points per game compared to 1.67 under Bosz.

This is a proud club which won seven consecutive French titles under four different managers, with a fifth, Claude Puel, engineering a run to the Champions League semi-finals.

Throughout it all, however, clear thinking and leadership were always provided by the club’s former president Jean-Michel Aulas.

Now he has gone, so has some of Lyon’s leadership and there’s little optimism.

What a victory against the champions would do is beyond expectation but it’s hard to envisage.

History

Historically, the teams have met 101 times.

Lyon have won 31, PSG have enjoyed 44 victories and there have been 26 draws.

Last season both matches went the way of the away side by a solitary goal.

Lyon won 1-0 in Paris in April when Bradkey Barcola was the scorer. In September last year, an early Lionel Messi goal earned the Parisiens victory.

You have to go back to 2019-20 since either side managed a league double – PSG winning both matches on that occasion.

Lyon have won only two of the last 10 clashes.

It was 2007/08, before the big PSG takeover, that Lyon last enjoyed a league double over their rivals.

Betting Tip

Given what you have just read, it is little wonder PSG are overwhelming favourites with the SBOTOP Ligue 1 betting odds.

They price them 1X2 @ 1.52 and Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 2.11.

Lyon, if they can find a rich vein of form, will earn you a nice payday with odds which include 1X2 @ 4.60 and Asian Handicap +1.00 @ 2.05.

Even a draw is worth @ 4.50.

A re-run of last season’s encounter will pay out @ 10.00 with Correct Score 0-1.

For goals, and the chances are there may be a fair few, how about Total Goals 4-6 @ 2.27 or 2-3 @ 2.14.

Another tight, low scoring encounter offers odds of @ 6.00 with Total Goal 0-1 or under 3.25 @ 2.00.

Lyon are in a bad place right now and I am struggling to see them even reaching the break on level pegging,

That is why my *** tip is First Half Asian Handicap PSG -0.50 @ 2.06.

 

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