Neymar and Lionel Messi will not play in Friday’s Coupe de France match between Paris Saint-Germain and Chateauroux.
Because both players will ease back into club play at PSG after serving in the 2022 World Cup, the elite forwards won’t be put in danger in domestic cup matches against lower-tier opposition.
While Messi, who led Argentina to victory in Qatar, has only recently been welcomed back into training by the top clubs in Ligue 1, Neymar has only participated in one game since his return from Qatar and has already been given a red card!
Therefore, these superstars will rest, but do anticipate them to play in the Ligue 1 match against Angers!
PSG boss Christophe Galtier said of Messi when asked about his potential involvement in a cup clash with Chateauroux: “Leo trained yesterday and today. He won’t play tomorrow. We’re making sure he’s ready for the next game. We’ll take stock. I’ll be very attentive to what he’s going to do, but we want him to be available for the next match.”
With a 4-point advantage over Lens after 17 games, the Parisian club is in first place!
In their last Ligue 1 encounter, PSG surprising lost to Lens, who could then cut down the gap from 7 points to 4 points now!
Despite PSG scoring early, Lens eventually recovered and won the game 3-1!
PSG will now play Angers, who currently has only 8 points and is in last place on the table!
In order to put some distance between themselves and Lens, this presents PSG with the ideal opportunity.
With the intention of halting their descent into Ligue 1’s trapdoor, mid-table Lorient travelled to crisis club Angers on Sunday at the Stade Raymond Kopa.
The Loire club lost for the eighth straight time after the World Cup break, and their opponents on New Year’s Day extended their losing streak to nine games!
Lorient defeated the opposition 2-1!
The situation for Angers, who are currently seven points from safety and are at the bottom of Ligue 1, will only get worse when they play the best team from Paris!
1×2 Betting Odds
There is no doubt that PSG are the hot favourites to win this one, especially with Messi predicted to be back in the side!
It the league leaders taking on bottom placed Angers under the Eiffel Tower, and the club from Paris are the unquestionable favourites!
And the betting market agrees!
PSG who will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to chasing Lens, are the firm favourites to win here with market odds @ 1.14.
There is not much for Angers to hope for from this game, as their market odds make them huge underdogs in this @ 25.00.
The possibility of a stalemate and points shared, stands @ 12.50.
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals scored will be over 2.5, stands @ 1.25.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 4.40.
Both these teams are poles apart from each other not just in terms of quality but also in league standing!
It is the first placed team taking on the 20th placed team, so do expect more than a few goals in this with the overpowered home side winning comfortably!
