Paris Saint-Germain's visit of les Dogues comes with both clubs in desperate need to a victory to keep their championship hopes alive. With both PSG and Lille deadlocked four points behind table-leader Lyonnais the pressure is on.
Les Rouge et Bleu are coming off a quiet UEFA Cup draw against this Thursday in which Paul Le Guen held back veterans Claude Makélélé and Ludovic Giuly with the championnat the clear priority. The PSG leader was straight-forward in discussing the importance of the match:
“To stay in the hunt for the title, this match is very important. It also comes after defeats to Marseille and Toulouse, to direct rivals for the crown. Lille are another direct rival so this match is very, very important.”
Sylvain Armand narrowly missed a call for the match and will likely return in Kyiv next Thursday but the Parisians back-line will be bolstered with the return of Zoumana Camara from the sin-bin. Rudi Garcia's side will be without the services former Palermo striker Túlio Melo and Yohan Cabaye to injury as well as suspended Yohan Cabaye.