Paris Saint-Germain will endeavour to maintain or increase their eight-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table when they travel to face Bordeaux on Saturday evening.
Les Girondins claimed a rare victory over Reims in their most recent game, while Mauricio Pochettino's side downed champions Lille 2-1.
Match preview
© Reuters
Jimmy Briand has been nothing more than a bit-part player under Vladimir Petkovic at Bordeaux this term, but when Les Girondins needed the 36-year-old to deliver against Reims on matchday 12, he sure did deliver.
Hugo Ekitike and Bradley Locko sent a youthful Reims side two goals to the good just after the hour mark, but Yacine Adli havled the deficit before Briand turned the game on its head with two goals as a substitute - his second coming from the spot in the fifth minute of second-half injury time.
A win in gameweek six and a win in gameweek 12 represents Bordeaux's only two triumphs of the Ligue 1 season, though, and while they appear to have developed a more resilient nature in recent weeks, they remain 16th in the table and are just three points clear of the bottom three.
Les Girondins have only lost one of their last seven in Ligue 1 before the visit of PSG - with four of those encounters ending with the spoils shared - but 24 goals conceded is the third-highest tally in the division and is there to be exploited by Pochettino's rampant crop.
© Reuters
It was not pretty, and they had to come from behind in front of their own fans following Jonathan David's opening goal for Lille, but PSG ultimately got the job done against the reigning champions thanks to their South American superstars.
Pochettino's side seemed destined to be heading for defeat until Marquinhos levelled the scores, and with 88 minutes of the contest played, Angel Di Maria combined brilliantly with Neymar before coolly finishing into the bottom corner to hand his side maximum points.
However, Les Parisiens were undone by a late Dominik Szoboszlai penalty during a 2-2 Champions League draw with RB Leipzig - as Georginio Wijnaldum's brace was not enough to get PSG over the line - and some have questioned whether the capital giants truly look like a well-oiled machine under Pochettino.
The Argentine is getting results when it matters in Ligue 1, though, with his side now eight points clear of second-placed Nice at the summit and boasting a league-high tally of 26 goals, although the two games they have dropped points in so far both came away from home.
PSG travel to the Matmut Atlantique unbeaten in 13 games across all competitions with Bordeaux - prevailing 1-0 in this fixture after a 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes last term - and the visitors have not failed to score against Les Girondins since 2012.
- D
- D
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Bordeaux striker Hwang Ui-jo is set to remain out with a hamstring injury for the time being, but Jean Onana and Otavio are both back from suspensions for the hosts.
The latter should certainly slot straight back into Petkovic's midfield - with Fransergio potentially being sacrificed - while Paul Baysse and Issouf Sissokho are also set to be absent for this contest.
Briand will hope to have done enough to be considered for a recall up top, as will Samuel Kalu, who set up his teammate's first on the day.
Meanwhile, PSG star Lionel Messi missed out against Leipzig with hamstring and knee discomfort, and the 34-year-old has also been ruled out of this contest.
Sergio Ramos is not be ready to make his PSG debut just yet either, while Rafinha, Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes are definitely absent until after the next international break, as is Presnel Kimpembe.
Wijnaldum will now aim to cement his position in the Parisiens midfield following his starring role against Leipzig, while Ander Herrera will hope to demote Danilo Pereira back down to the bench.
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Pembele, Koscielny, Gregersen, Mangas; Lacoux, Otavio, Adli; Kalu, Briand, Dilrosun
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kehrer, Mendes; Herrera, Gueye, Wijnaldum; Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar
We say: Bordeaux 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Bordeaux have not rolled over easily in recent weeks, but the defensive deficiencies are still there for Petkovic, and the continued absence of Hwang is a bitter blow to their attacking capabilities.
PSG have failed to convince many so far this term, but Pochettino's men should still prevail comfortably to cement their place at the top of the rankings.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Paris Saint-Germain win with a probability of 68.42%. A draw had a probability of 18.6% and a win for Bordeaux had a probability of 13.02%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 0-2 with a probability of 11.44%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.33%) and 1-2 (9.73%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.78%), while for a Bordeaux win it was 1-0 (3.97%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Paris Saint-Germain would win this match.
