PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain was given the weekend off to prepare. Champions League trip to Liverpoolthere will be no top-level showdown with Lens this weekend.
of French league postponement sparks controversy 1st vs. 2nd match at the request of PSG. Originally scheduled for April 11th, it was sandwiched between two quarter-final matches against PSG and Liverpool, and will now be played on May 13th.
A win would have enabled Lens, who had opposed the change, to narrow the gap to leaders PSG, who have played one less game, to one point.
Instead, this weekend’s focus will be on the battle for third place, which will earn automatic qualification to next season’s Champions League, with the fourth-placed team heading into qualifying.
It promises to be an exciting race to the line between Lille, Marseille, Monaco, Lyon and Rennes.
There is a three-point difference between third-place Lille and seventh-place Rennes with six matches remaining.
major matches
4th place Marseille and 5th place Monaco are tied on points.
Marseille need to bounce back from last weekend lost to monaco We won at home against Metz, who was at rock bottom. Monaco enters the match against Paris FC on a seven-game winning streak. Both games will be played on Friday.
Rennes host Angers on Saturday, while Lille face mid-table Toulouse on Sunday.
6th place Lyon They will be looking to end a nine-game winless streak in all competitions when they host Lorient on Sunday. Lyon have been starved of goals, scoring just three times in their last six games.
Featured players
Monaco FW Folarin Balogun He has been in top form, scoring one of the goals of the season last weekend with a deft lob and drive from the edge of the penalty area.
his teammates paul pogba He could make a long-awaited return to midfield after a long injury absence due to a persistent problem with his left calf. He has only played about 30 minutes for Monaco since then. his debut work Near the end of November.
Striker Esteban Leport’s clinical finishing helped Rennes push towards European qualification in the closing stages, with him level at the top of the French league scorers with 16 goals.
bradley barcola He could return to PSG after suffering a right ankle injury sustained in the Champions League last month. Chelsea match.
Activity suspended
Monaco’s Brazilian full-back Caio Henrique and Vandersson are still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in 2018. victory over PSG last month.
PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz remains sidelined after sustaining a knee injury in January’s Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon.
Strasbourg striker Joaquín Panichelli will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn right anterior cruciate ligament. Panichelli remains the top scorer in the French league.
Stadium expansion?
PSG fans may have been celebrating the moment Emmanuel Gregoire He won last month’s Paris mayoral election.
This could be good news for the club, as unlike his predecessor Anne Hidalgo, Grégoire is in favor of PSG expanding their stadium rather than moving.
The Parc des Princes stadium has a capacity for approximately 48,500 spectators, and the club hopes to seat at least 60,000.
However, for that to happen, Paris City Hall, which owns the stadium, would have to sell it to PSG. Hidalgo objected vehemently, and PSG had to build a new stadium elsewhere to increase capacity. That would mean leaving the city and moving to the suburbs of Passy or Massy, which would displease their historic fan base.
However, Grégoire is open to a sale and was seen at the stadium when PSG beat Toulouse 3-1 last Friday.
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