PSG has faced a turbulent week as they attempt to stop Kylian Mbappe from leaving and his transfer troubles could overshadow a debut for Lionel Messi when they visit Reims in this match. The Parisians remain the biggest club in France, but they lost the Ligue 1 title to Lille last season and they will be keen to win it back in this campaign. They have just landed Messi and he could make his bow in this match after they chose not to rush him into action. His arrival means they could field a front three of Messi-Neymar-Mbappe. But the Frenchman wants to leave with Real Madrid keen to sign him. It remains unclear if they would start him in this match as he appears to have his head turned by a move away already. Madrid may not have completed his transfer before this game, but Mauricio Pochettino might choose not to play him since he wants to leave. The former Tottenham boss has an embarrassment of talents at his disposal if he chooses to not play Mbappe with Mauro Icardi likely to get the nod. It would be exciting to see Messi back on the pitch, but Reims will look to spoil their party. The host hasn’t won a league game this season, but they will fancy causing an upset with Moreto Cassama in top form at this start of the season.

PSG have just added Lionel Messi to their squad and they would now look to take back the Ligue 1 crown that they lost to Lille last season. The Argentinian superstar will likely miss this match even though he is eager to start playing for the Parisians as soon as possible. PSG struggled with consistency last season and that is one reason Lille pipped them to the league title. They have started this campaign in a similarly shaky fashion after having to come from behind to beat Troyes in their last match. The newly promoted side had scored the opening goal and Mauricio Pochettino’s club struggled to get back in. They eventually scored two goals in a few minutes to turn the match on its head. History is on their side in this match against Strasbourg as they have never lost a game to their visitors at home. They have won 24 and drawn 7 of those matches and will look to get three more points from this encounter. Strasbourg finished last season just two points above the relegation zone and they have started this campaign poorly after losing their opening match of the campaign 2-0 to Angers.

PSG would be looking to continue their recent run of good form when they host rivals Olympique Marseille in this game. The Ligue 1 defending champions started the season in struggling fashion as a number of their star men were nursing either injuries or serving a suspension. Their recent performances have gotten better and the return of Kylian Mbappe is set to improve things even further. He came off the bench to net a hat-trick against Club Brugge in midweek and could be in line for a start in this game. PSG have lost just two competitive games this season and come into this game having lost just one of their last 11 games in all competitions. Thomas Tuchel’s side should find it tougher to beat Marseille but it isn’t mission impossible. Marseille is looking to achieve some quick success after naming former Chelsea manager, Andre Villas-Boas as their manager this season. The Portuguese manager seems to be taking ‘safety first’ approach to his first campaign as their manager. They have struggled to get the wins, but have managed to keep some dignity by picking up draws. They have lost just one of their last nine games this season, but four of those games have been wins for them. They would be looking to get another point on the board after 90 minutes here.

This would be the first game that PSG would play without Neymar as the Brazilian begins a spell on the sidelines yet again. Neymar left the pitch in tears having injured himself against Strasbourg last week. The Brazilian was accused of showboating by their opponents in that game and was at the end of some dangerous challenges, but his injury came solely from him kicking the pitch. It would be interesting to see how the French champions fair without him as they go chasing their 11th consecutive home win in the league this season. This game is traditionally one of the toughest for PSG as Rennes tend to know how to get results when they visit the French champions. The last seven games between these sides have all ended in away wins, however, PSG have had to visit Rennes in six of those games. The visitors come here having won 3 of their last 6 league visits to the Parc des Princes, including the last in May last year.

AS Monaco earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Olypique Marseille in their last game and that would have provided a much needed boost to their morale ahead of this game. Thierry Henry’s side needed that draw to show that they are achieving something and they have now avoided defeat in 3 of their last 4 games, whereas they had lost 4 of their previous 5. They have steadied the ship defensively and the return of Rony Lopes to their starting line up alongside the newly signed Cesc Fabregas is surely going to make them a better team in this second half of the season. Nice come into this game having tasted victory just once in their last 7 games in all competitions. However, that win came against Bordeaux last weekend and they would be confident of getting something from this game. The visitors attempted to play a possession-based game in their last match and that wasn’t successful as their opponents kept on cutting out their passes. They could be afforded more freedom to play their game here, but that wouldn’t guarantee them the win. Monaco have scored in four of their last five matches and with Nice losing their last two games on the road, we can see les Monegasques nicking a win here. Both these sides have seen low-scoring matches recently with just two of Nice’s last 14 containing over 2. 5 goals, so we’re going to back a 1-0 victory for Monaco. Nice have seemed incapable of scoring recently and with Monaco on the up, we’re expecting Henry’s men to do the job here.  

Lyon resumed duties after the winter break by securing a routine 2-0 win over 5th tier Bourges at the weekend and that should boost their confidence ahead of this game. Meanwhile, Strasbourg would consider this game a trickier one as they haven’t played any game since the turn of the new year. Lyon’s failure to beat Montpellier just before the Christmas break has seen them remained in the 3rd position ahead of this round of fixtures. There is a massive 15 points gap between them and runaway leaders PSG so their most realistic target at the moment is to finish inside the top four. Lyon haven’t been perfect in their home games as they have won just two of their last four home games, and that explains why PSG have pulled far away from them this season. Strasbourg are also struggling to play when they are not at home and this game is set to be another tough day at the office for them. Lyon have a pleasing recent record against Strasbourg. Tuesday’s hosts have won four of the last five renewals, while they won by two goals to nil when the teams met in the league earlier this season.

Nantes have always been struggling to get outside of the bottom 10 since their return to the French top flight in 2013, and they find themselves in the 14th position now as the league resumes this year. They were impressive in the first half of last season apart from that they have always looked like candidates for relegation. They however, have two games in hand on some of the teams above them in the league table so a good run of form this year could help them get inside the top 10. They have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions and come into this game for the three points that would move them to the 11th position. Montpellier are having a better season and they would be looking to consolidate on their position inside the top four as they chase a European place. They currently have 30 points from 17 games having lost just 3 games all season. A win here would take them above 3rd placed Lyon who have played a game more than them this season.