KAMPALA: Lionel Messi is poised to make his first appearance since leading Argentina to World Cup glory when Paris Saint Germain host basement club Angers at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night. The Qatar 2022 Golden Ball winner arrived back in France last week just in time to witness the reigning Ligue One champions suffer a 1-3 loss at Racing Lens. The defeat cut PSG’s advantage atop the standings to just four points as the 1998 French top flight titlists continued to provide an unlikely challenge to the Parisians.
PSG coach Christopher Galtier hinted at a creeping sense of complacency after witnessing his side struggle to break down lower division Chatearoux 3-1 in the Coupe de France. Messi’s creativity is definitely going to be a great boost as the Argentine legend targets an increase to his continent leading tally of ten assists. Angers are running out of road in their efforts to stave off relegation. The Stade Raymond Kopa based side begin match day 18 having collected an abysmal eight points.
Lens aim to build on their impressive tally of 40 points when they travel to Strasbourg to examine an outfit that’s won only one Ligue One game all season. Currently second from bottom, Strasbourg are the draw masters of the division, with eight of their 17 games to-date ending in stalemates. That trend continued over the weekend with side needing penalties to overcome fellow Ligue One side Clermont in the French Cup.
Igor Tudor’s Olympique Marseille defend third place when they travel to Troyes in the late kick off. The 1993 European champions have put behind a period of uncertainty to resume their hunt for Champions League qualification with gusto. With Dmitri Payet, Luis Suarez, Cenghiz Under and Alexis Sanchez on their books, France’s best supported club boast Ligue One’s second most potent attack. Troyes certainly need to score in order to avoid defeat.
WEDNESDAY
Ajaccio v Reims,
Auxerre v Toulouse,
Clermont v Rennes,
Nantes v Olympique Lyon,
Brest v Lille Metropole,
Lorient v Monaco,
Nice v Montpellier,
Paris Saint Germain v Angers,
Strasbourg v Racing Lens,
Troyes v Olympique Marseille