Now only one point away from confirming their status as Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain will aim to finish the job with four games to spare against Lens on Saturday night at the Parc des Princes.
Mauricio Pochettino's side eased to a 3-0 success against Angers in midweek, while Franck Haise's men ran out 2-0 winners at home to Montpellier HSC.
Match preview
© Reuters
In order to regain their rightful Ligue 1 crown on Wednesday night, PSG simply had to better Marseille's result against Nantes, and Mauricio Pochettino's men did their bit as Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos put a lacklustre Angers side to the sword.
For a short while, it appeared that PSG would be heading into gameweek 33 with the medals already around their necks, but Marseille came from behind to beat Nantes 3-2 and ensure that the title race would mathematically remain alive for just a little while longer.
With only five games left to play in the 2021-22 season, PSG boast a 15-point lead over their closest challengers at the top of the standings, meaning that a draw at home to Lens would be enough for Les Parisiens to be crowned French champions for the 10th time in their history.
Even if PSG do fail to clinch the crown this weekend, fixtures with Strasbourg, Metz, Troyes and Montpellier present the champions-elect with magnificent opportunities to do so, but Pochettino will no doubt want to wrap up the title as quickly as possible before an uncertain summer will befall him.
Victory over Angers represented a fourth Ligue 1 success on the bounce for this rampageous PSG side, who have also won each of their last eight league games at the Parc des Princes, and Lens will somehow attempt to spoil the title party in the capital to further their own continental ambitions.
© Reuters
As is the case with their title-chasing hosts, Lens have also strung a run of successive victories together in their bid to achieve their end-of-season goals, and a spot in the top five is certainly not out of the question for the 2019-20 Ligue 2 runners-up.
David Costa and Ignatius Ganago were both on target either side of the half-time whistle for Les Sang et Or in their midweek victory over Montpellier, with Haise's side now three for three after previously sinking Lille and Nice in an eye-catching spate of results.
Still in outside contention for a spot in the Europa Conference League, Europa League or even the Champions League, Lens sit seventh in the table at the time of writing and are only three points behind Monaco, Strasbourg and Rennes - the former of whom they will face on the final day of the season.
A fascinating battle for third place has already begun and is set to go right down to the wire, but Lens have typified inconsistency on the road this term - taking 21 points from 48 on offer away from home and winning just three Ligue 1 games on rival turf since October.
Haise's side did manage to halt the PSG momentum by holding Pochettino's side to a 1-1 draw at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis earlier this term, but Les Parisiens have not lost at home to Saturday's visitors since 2006, and the home crowd will be eagerly anticipating a title party come the full-time whistle this weekend.
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
In between Le Classique and the win over Angers, PSG lost three integral cogs in Lionel Messi, Marco Verratti and Presnel Kimpembe to injury, with all three facing a race against time to be fit for the potential title coronation.
Leandro Paredes, Julian Draxler and Abdou Diallo also remain out of contention for the hosts, who should have Layvin Kurzawa and Ander Herrera back in training at some point this week, while Neymar is back from a ban served in the Angers win. Mauro Icardi, meanwhile, will miss the next two weeks with a thigh injury.
However, nineteen-year-old midfielder Edouard Michut is now suspended after seeing red late on against Angers, and Pochettino may revert to a back four this week after experimenting with a three-man central defence at the Stade Raymond Kopa.
Thilo Kehrer would be expected to drop out if that is the case, while Eric Junior Dino Ebimbe was handed a rare start against Angers but could now cede his spot to the returning Idrissa Gueye.
Meanwhile, Lens left-back Massadio Haidara is back in contention after serving his two-game ban and will aim to displace Deiver Machado at left-back, while Christopher Wooh deputises in the three-man central defence in place of the injured Facundo Medina.
Medina is thought to have a chance of taking part this week but will certainly not be risked if not 100% fit, while Gael Kakuta continues to struggle with a knee injury and should also sit this one out. Patrick Berg is also a slight doubt after playing through the pain barrier in midweek.
The number 10 spot is nevertheless in safe hands after Costa's opener in midweek, and Ganago's strike off the bench has given Haise food for thought in the final third.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Mendes; Pereira, Gueye, Wijnaldum; Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar
Lens possible starting lineup:
Farinez; Wooh, Danso, Gradit; Clauss, Fofana, Doucoure, Haidara; Costa; Sotoca, Ganago
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Lens
There are no two ways about it - PSG will be crowned 2021-22 champions sooner rather than later, and Pochettino's players would probably choose to celebrate it in front of their own supporters than at the Stade Raymond Kopa.
The hosts' injuries and Lens' recent hot streak makes this a slightly more interesting proposition than it would initially appear on paper, but PSG have been near flawless at home this term and will not settle for the one point needed to secure the title - the celebrations ought to begin after a professional win in the capital.
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 68.54%. A draw had a probability of 19.3% and a win for Lens had a probability of 12.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.22%) and 2-1 (9.57%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.15%), while for a Lens win it was 0-1 (4.37%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood.
