PSG maintained their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 this season, and they are inching ever so closer to the ultimate feat of going an entire season without a defeat. The re-arranged midweek fixture against Nantes did end their ten-game winning run in the French top flight, but Luis Enrique would not care as long as they did not lose the game.
Enrique’s main focus will be on Tuesday’s clash with Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final in London. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the Spanish coach prioritises the unbeaten run in the league and names a strong enough side to face OGC Nice on Friday night.
Les Parisiens have played more games than Enrique would have liked after requesting permission to postpone the Nantes clash before their Aston Villa clash. While their request was granted, the re-arranged fixture came in this week and now they will have to manouvre the challenge of OGC Nice.
On paper, this should not be another walkover for PSG, as OGC Nice have a good enough record against the Parisians. That is not to say that record is exceptional, but they did secure a draw in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign.
Only a few weeks earlier Nice were nailed on for a Champions League finish this season, but a winless run of five games has somewhat cast doubts over their prospects of finishing in the top four. A fourth-placed finish in Ligue 1 allows the team to enter the Champions League qualification stage.
Nice will play Reims, Rennes and Brest in their next games after this trip to Paris, with none of those teams playing for anything important this season other than pride. The race for Champions League spots is the only interesting aspect about Ligue 1 left to watch, with Nice very much at the centre of this race, as they currently sit fifth with only four points separating them from second-placed Marseille in the standings.
Luis Enrique will certainly ring in the changes once again keeping the UEFA Champions League clash with Arsenal in mind. The expectation is for the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Nuno Mendes in an attempt to keep them as fresh as possible for the Arsenal clash.
Others like Lucas Beraldo, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in are all expected to start against Nice, while there could be an opportunity for teenage duo Ibrahim Mbaye and Senny Mayulu. Willian Pacho was a doubt for the Nantes clash, although he did play a part off the bench, which does raise the prospect of him starting this one against Nice alongside Beraldo.
In that case, Lucas Hernandez could get a run at left-back, thus allowing Mendes some rest. Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue could feature in the frontline with Goncalo Ramos leading the line, with the Portuguese striker not expected to start against Arsenal next week.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Lee; Doue, Ramos, Barcola
Franck Haise is not expected to make too many changes from the team that secured a win over Angers last weekend. Nice do not have too many injury issues beyond the ones that are already out with injuries such as centre-backs Dante and Moise Bombito alongside midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who will miss out with a groin issue.
Haise might stick with a back three of Mohamed Abdelmonem, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, and Melvin Bard, with the latter seen as a direct replacement for the injured Bombito. Jonathan Clauss and Ali Abdi are the likely choices for the wing-back berths, with Hicham Boudaoui and Pablo Rosario pencilled in for central midfield berths.
Badredine Bouanani will feature on the right side of the front three, with Jeremie Boga on the left. Gaetan Laborde will be the likely candidate to lead the line for Nice against PSG on Friday.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Bulka; Abdelmonem, Ndayishimiye, Bard; Clauss, Boudaoui, Rosario, Abdi; Bouanani, Laborde, Boga
Vitinha has had a good enough season with PSG acting as their main midfielder at the base under Enrique. While there might be a temptation from the manager to rest him after playing the entire game against Nantes, Luis Enrique might choose to continue with the midfielder to keep him as sharp as possible ahead of Arsenal.
There is a big challenge ahead for Vitinha to get the better out of some formidable Arsenal midfielders, and he would want to put in a top performance against OGC Nice to stay sharp. He will be the player to watch in this clash more on the lines of what to expect from him ahead of the Arsenal game.
Nice have everything to play for this season in Ligue 1, and they will be the team under more pressure to deliver a result rather than PSG. However, the visitors are facing a team that are eyeing a historic season without a defeat and that might be the difficulty for Haise’s side ahead of this trip to Paris.
Luis Enrique will not want to stretch too much in this clash which could potentially leave PSG a bit vulnerable in this clash against Nice. Yet, they have the quality to get a win over the visitors and keep their unbeaten run going. We may not see an ‘all guns blazing’ performance from the Parisians, but enough to keep them sharp and competitive to get a win and prepare for the Arsenal clash ahead of next week.
