PSG will welcome Lille in Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes. The side from Paris went down 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in midweek, and surely the clock is ticking for Christophe Galtier, who has not been able to find his tactics right for his side. PSG have won 17, drawn three, and lost three of their 23 Ligue 1 matches thus far.
Meanwhile, Lille enjoyed a rather comfortable win over Strasbourg last time out and have moved up to fifth place on the table with a total of 41 points. Lille will be aware of the fresh wounds on PSG as the Parisians have lost three matches in a row in all competitions. This season in Ligue 1, Lille’s form is good overall, with 12 wins, five draws, and six losses.
We now look at some of the stats for both teams that will help predict the most likely outcome of the match.
Overall performance this season
The visual above shows the percentile rank of both PSG and Lille compared to other teams in Ligue 1 this season. PSG have better stats than the other in all the departments. The team are leading the table as well are ranked top in terms of their percentile ranks for most of the departments. Lille, on the other hand, have done well in the league in terms of making recoveries and putting in crosses. Both teams are ranked similarly in terms of entries into the opponent’s penalty area per 90.
PSG have scored 55 goals, averaging 2.28 xG per match. Their defence has let in 20 goals, conceding 0.87 goals per 90. The team averages 14.61 shots per game with a 44.6% accuracy rate. Additionally, the team averages 60.06% possession per match.
Meanwhile, Lille have netted 40 goals, averaging 2.08 xG per match. Their defence has let in 27 goals, having conceded 1.17 on average. Lille’s players take 14.65 shots per match with a 38.6% accuracy rate. In terms of possession rate, they average 58.94% ball possession per match.
Efficiency in attack
The two visuals above compare both teams on the basis of positional play and counter-attacks. The visitors are at par for counterattacks, with 20% efficiency, the same as the hosts’. PSG creates 33 positional attacks on average and takes shots from 25.8% of such plays. Meanwhile, Lille creates 33.3 positional attacks per match, with 26.2% of them resulting in shots.
Alternatively, PSG launches 2.57 counterattacks per match, with 42.4% of these attacks ending in shots. Meanwhile, Lille launches 2.26 counterattacks on average, with 48.2% of them ending in shots. We can expect the hosts to keep more possession and create more chances while the visitors adopt a more agile and efficient approach to their attacking moves in this fixture.
Success in defence
The above visual represents the ranking of teams in Ligue 1 based on their percentage of defensive duel wins. It can be seen that PSG are ranked lower in the league for successful defensive duels. PSG have a 51% win rate in defensive duels, and Lille, on the other hand, have a 55% success rate. On average, Lille attempts 64.61 defensive duels and makes 38.3 interceptions per 90 versus 66.74 defensive duels and 34.6 interceptions per 90 for PSG.
Key Players
Kylian Mbappe will be looking to add more goals to his ever-increasing tally. This season, he has scored 13 goals (8.89 xG) from 71 shots and has an xG of 0.13 per shot. He has scored a variety of goals, and most of them have come from inside the box or near the six-yard area. He will be one of many whom the Lille backline will be terrified of and will be looking to contain at any cost.
Jonathan David is pumping goals for Lille and is a crucial part of their attack. In the 2022–23 French Ligue 1, Jonathan David played 18 matches. David has 31 shots on target from a total of 59 and has scored 14 goals (11.96 xG). All of his goals have come from inside and around the six-yard box, along with a few attempts on goal from outside the box.
The PSG backline will have to be aware of David’s positioning at all times in order to prevent any kind of damage.
Team news
Only Renato Sanches and Nordi Mukiele will be sidelined for the Parisians. Whereas, Lille will be without the likes of Ismaily and Adam Ounas due to injury issues.
In conclusion, Sunday‘s Ligue 1 clash at the Parc des Princes between PSG and Lille promises to be an interesting and intense encounter. PSG will be looking to get back to winning ways following three consecutive losses in all competitions, while Lille will be hoping to continue their impressive form and move further up the table. The result of this match could have a big impact on the Ligue 1 title race.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
