Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to return to winning ways following their shock Champions League defeat to Manchester United when they travel to Dijon in Ligue 1 on Tuesday night.
PSG might no longer be in this season's European Cup, but they boast a 14-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 with two games in hand. Dijon, meanwhile, currently occupy 18th position in the table with 21 points from 27 matches.
Dijon
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Five wins, six draws and 16 defeats – that is how Dijon have performed in Ligue 1 this season. It is a set of results that has brought them just 21 points, six points behind 17th-placed Monaco in the table but with a game in hand.
The 2017-18 campaign proved to be just Dijon's third-ever top-flight season and they managed to secure an 11th-place finish, which was absolutely remarkable. Les Rouges are facing a battle to remain in Ligue 1 this term, though, and a home game against PSG is not what they needed at this particular moment.
Indeed, Antoine Kombouare's side have not won in the league since overcoming Monaco at the end of January. Since that success, they have been beaten in five of their six matches, only ending the losing run at home to Reims at the weekend.
It was certainly a welcome point against fifth-placed Reims, but it is a huge ask to expect them to pick up a result against a PSG team who will be desperate to bounce back following their Champions League elimination last week.
Only Caen and Guingamp have a worse home league record than Dijon this season, while no team has scored fewer home goals (11). Whether they remain in France's top flight, though, is not going to depend on Tuesday night's result.
Indeed, Kombouare's team have a massive game away to basement side Guingamp this weekend and simply have to collect all three points in that match. Monaco have just started to pull away in 17th spot and Dijon cannot allow the gap to become eight or nine points over the next weeks.
The fact that Dijon's joint-leading scorers this season are Mehdi Abeid and Julio Tavares with just three each is a big concern, but all is not well at PSG following their defeat to United and there could be a shock result at Stade Gaston Gerard.
Recent form: LLLLLD
Recent form (all competitions): LLLLLD
Paris Saint-Germain
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PSG are going to win Ligue 1 this season, while they will fancy their chances of securing another Coupe de France crown as they prepare to face Nantes in the semi-finals. Domestically, it is shaping up to be another strong campaign, but the French giants have once again failed on the European stage.
It is difficult to describe what happened in Paris last week. Indeed, having secured a 2-0 first-leg advantage away to United, all Thomas Tuchel's side had to do was finish the job in front of their own supporters. United were without a whole host of their stars, but somehow recorded a 3-1 victory to advance.
VAR certainly helped United advance, but there is no getting away from the fact that PSG should have had enough to make the quarter-finals, even without the presence of a certain Neymar. It was yet another failure on the biggest stage and there does seem to be a serious issue with PSG when it comes to Europe.
Serious questions have once again been asked, but PSG have to move on. They cannot do anything other than attempt to put things right next season and now concentrate on finishing their domestic campaign in the right manner.
A record of 23 wins, two draws and one defeat from 26 league matches is staggering. Tuchel's side are comfortably the highest scorers in the division with 79 goals, while they have the best defensive record with just 15 conceded. In many ways, therein lies the problem. The capital outfit are perhaps just not tested enough on a weekly basis to be a strong threat in Europe.
As mentioned, PSG are 14 points clear of second-placed Lille with two games in hand. Unless something quite extraordinary happens then another league title will be heading for Paris and it is difficult to see when their domination – domestically – will stop due to how far they are ahead of the rest.
Tuchel's next three fixtures are against Dijon, Marseille and Toulouse in Ligue 1, but taking on Nantes in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France at the start of next month. There will be no Coupe de la Ligue this term, though, as they were dumped out of the competition by Guingamp at the start of 2019.
It will be very interesting to see the body language of the PSG players on Tuesday night as many will still be struggling to accept what happened in the Champions League. The show has to go on, though, and the fans will demand a response.
Recent form: LWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWL
Team News
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Dijon boss Kombouare has no fresh injury concerns from the team that drew with Reims. However, the home side will be without the services of defender Senou Coulibaly following his early red card at the weekend.
Tavares started on the bench against Reims but should return, while Jordan Marie and Cedric Yambere are also pushing for positions in the XI.
As for PSG, Edinson Cavani made his return from a hip injury as a late substitute against United and the South American should be recalled to the XI here.
Neymar is still out with a foot injury, however, and Julian Draxler is a huge doubt with the hamstring problem he suffered against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team.
Thomas Meunier is in line for a return at right-back, while Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa are also pushing for positions in the starting XI.
Alphonse Areola could start between the sticks, meanwhile, with Gianluigi Buffon's performance against United called into question.
Dijon possible starting lineup:
Allain; Chafik, Yambere, Lautoa, Haddadi; Abeid, Balmont; Sliti, Marie, Amalfitano; Tavares
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Areola; Meunier, Silva, Marquinhos, Bernat; Verratti, Paredes; Di Maria, Mbappe, Alves; Cavani
Head To Head
These two teams have met on six previous occasions in Ligue 1 and PSG have won all six, including a 8-0 victory in January 2018.
The Paris giants have won 2-1, 3-1 and 2-1 on their three trips to Dijon in Ligue 1, while the pair also locked horns in the Coupe de France in February, with Tuchel's team recording a 3-0 victory in the French capital.
We say: Dijon 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Dijon picked up a welcome point at the weekend, but PSG will be fresh having not played since last week and we expect the runaway leaders to put another three points on the board in routine fashion.
Matt Law
