Lyon vs PSG – Ligue 1: TV channel, team news, lineups and prediction

Olympique Lyonnais host reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain in a heavy-weight Ligue 1 clash on Sunday night.

Laurent Blanc’s Lyon have endured a nightmarish start to the new campaign. After a desperately underwhelming season which once again ended outside the European places, Lyon have collected one point from three games this term – and Nice were unfortunate not to win a low-quality 0-0 draw.

PSG drew their first two matches under Luis Enrique but earned all three points last weekend with a thumping 3-1 win over last season’s runners-up RC Lens. Kylian Mbappe’s return to the starting XI certainly helped.

Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s match.

Lyon vs PSG H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current Form (Last Five Games)

Alexandre Lacazette scored 27 league goals last season – just two shy of Mbappe – but will miss out on Sunday’s match while serving a suspension for a straight red card against Montpellier a fortnight ago.

Blanc is also expected to be without his first-choice goalkeeper Anthony Lopes while he recovers from a head injury. Former Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren is a doubt with a thigh problem.

Just to add fuel to the raging bin-fire that has been Lyon’s start, OL sold their exciting 20-year-old winger Bradley Barcola on Thursday. Naturally, PSG made the €45m (£38.5m) purchase.

Lyon predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Riou; Kumbedi, Caleta-Car, Diomande, Tagliafico; Tolisso, Maitland-Niles; Cherki, Caqueret, Kadewere; Sarr

READ THE LATEST PSG NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP

Enrique has a glut of fitness concerns to juggle but boasts a hulking squad more than capable of absorbing the absentees.

Presnel Kimpembe is slowly being eased back from a nasty Achilles injury while full-backs Nordi Mukiele and Nuno Mendes are both nursing hamstring problems. Fellow defender Juan Bernat is likely to miss out with a muscular issue.

Doubts linger over a pair of summer arrivals in the form of Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos. Backup goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier won’t be warming the bench while he ices his sprained ankle.

PSG predicted lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembele, Asensio, Mbappe

Two games into the season, Blanc delivered a blunt response when asked how Lyon could steer out of this nosedive. “Change the coach,” he replied with a straight face.

A goalless stalemate with Nice last weekend, in which Lyon faced 21 shots while forcing Marcin Bulka into one tame save, may only serve as a stay of execution for Blanc should Lyon lose at home to PSG.

Without the talismanic figure of Lacazette, the odds are stacked against OL. If PSG perform anywhere near the level their vastly superior squad is capable of, the visitors should triumph and Blanc’s advice may be heeded.

Prediction: Lyon 0-3 PSG