The Parisians are unable to find a solution on the Lens pitch this Saturday during the 18th day of Ligue 1. Follow the match live with commentary on our site.
17:28 – PSG purrs
The Parisians have not been very inspired since the kick-off almost half an hour ago. Luis Enrique’s players are unable to shake up the Lensois block and really put Koffi under pressure.
17:25 – Second corner for Lens
The Lensois remain in the Parisian camp and quickly obtain a second corner, but this time the PSG defense wards off the danger.
17:24 – First corner for Lens
RC Lens obtains the first corner of this meeting after 25 minutes of play. Frankowski takes charge of hitting it on the inside but Donnarumma, after an unacademic exit, pushes the ball away from the area.
17:21 – A safe strike from Doué
Well found on the left wing, Désiré Doué manages to find himself in a one-on-one situation with Sarr. He succeeds in his dribble before hitting with the left but Koffi catches the ball easily. It lacked power.
17:19 – Nuno Mendes taken back at the last moment
Found in the area by Vitinha, author of an ingenious dip, Nuno Mendes carries out a superb oriented control to open the path to goal but Gradit reacts and manages to finally clear the ball.
17:16 – Medina complains about the ankle
Tripping over Lee Kang-in, Facundo Medina twisted his ankle and took some time to regain his position. Not sure if he can continue for very long though because he’s limping.
17:14 – Fabian Ruiz tries his luck
Fabian Ruiz tries his luck from outside the area with his left foot on a half-volley and forces Hervé Koffi to lie down to divert the ball. It was the first shot on target of this match.
17:12 – Barcola a little tender
After making a small bridge over Machado, Barcola calls for a foul from the Lensois left piston but Mr. Pignard signals to play and the Parisian, a little tender on this one, loses the ball.
17:09 – PSG dominates the start of the match
The PSG players have control of the ball at the start of the match, without this being a big surprise either. But Hervé Koffi, the Lens goalkeeper, has so far had nothing to do.
17:06 – Lee in center forward position
At PSG, in the absence of Dembélé, it is Lee Kang-in who plays in the center forward position at the start of the match. Barcola is positioned on the right, while Désiré Doué is positioned on the left.
17:03 – PSG plays three behind
Luis Enrique surprised Will Still by setting up a three-way defense with Beraldo, Pacho and Lucas Hernandez. Zaire-Emery plays the role of piston on the right in the absence of Hakimi, while Nuno Mendes is on the left.
17:00 – Let’s go between Lens and PSG!
Mr. Pignard whistles the kick-off for this match between Lens and PSG! It is the Parisians who engage in this first period at Bollaert, under the whistles of the Lensois supporters obviously.
16:55 – The players enter the pitch
Players from RC Lens and PSG enter the pitch at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium! The kick-off will be given in a few moments now, in a very beautiful atmosphere as always in Lens.
16:50 – PSG: Hakimi has been preserved
Surprise absent from the Parisian group for this match in Lens, Achraf Hakimi did not appear in Friday’s medical update provided by PSG, which in theory excludes an injury for the Moroccan full-back. According to RMC and Le Parisien, the Moroccan international was “preserved” for the match against Manchester City after a discussion with his coach Luis Enrique. His absence would obviously be a big blow for Paris, which hopes to be able to count on the returns of Marquinhos and Dembélé.
16:45 – Imperial PSG away in L1
Since his arrival in Paris in the summer of 2023, Luis Enrique has achieved the feat of not conceding a single away defeat in Ligue 1. PSG thus remains in 32 matches without a defeat away in Ligue 1 (24 wins for 8 draws). A performance only achieved by three other clubs in the 5 major European championships: AC Milan in 1991-93 (38 matches), Bayern Munich in 2012-14 (33) and Inter Milan in 2006-08 (32) . The Parisians can therefore match Bayern’s series today before targeting that of AC Milan in the weeks to come.
16:40 – Lens not very successful against PSG
The Lensois, who had the whole week to prepare for this shock against PSG, are not favorites. They have only won 2 of the last 22 matches against the Parisians in all competitions (7 draws for 13 defeats). It was in Ligue 1, in September 2020 (1-0) and in January 2023 (3-1), each time in their Bollaert-Delelis stadium. Enough to give them a little hope, even if Lens has only won 2 of its last 8 home matches in all competitions (3 draws for 3 defeats).
16:35 – Paris cannot count on Kvaratskhelia
Paris Saint-Germain made its first recruit of the winter transfer window official on Friday evening, with the signing of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Naples. The amount of the transfer is estimated at 70 million euros by the French and Italian media. This match against Lens necessarily comes a little too early to see the Georgian play his first minutes in the PSG jersey. But that could be the case next Saturday when Reims hosts in Ligue 1 (9:05 p.m.).
16:30 – Luis Enrique does not want to think about C1
Will PSG be fully focused on the match this afternoon as the clash against Manchester City on Wednesday in the Champions League looms? Yes, according to Luis Enrique. “We see the importance of the Champions League match and you have been talking to me about it for several weeks. But I do not believe that the Manchester City match will have any impact on the result in Lens,” he explained. Friday in a press conference We would prefer to arrive at the Champions League match with a victory in hand and then we will have time to talk about the match against City and Stuttgart.
16:25 – PSG: An experimental defense
Luis Enrique is deprived of three major players for this trip to the North, since captain Marquinhos and Ousmane Dembélé are not in the Parisian group, just like Hamiki. Absent against Espaly on Wednesday (paternity), Beraldo will start as right back in the absence of the Moroccan side. The Parisian defense will therefore be made up of four left-handed players! In the middle, Fabian Ruiz is preferred to Joao Neves. PSG starting lineup: Donnarumma – Beraldo, L. Hernandez, Pacho, N. Mendes – Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, F. Ruiz – Lee, D. Doué, Barcola.
4:20 p.m. – Third match this season between Lens and Paris
This is already the third time that the RC Lens and Paris Saint-Germain face each other this season in an official match. In Ligue 1, on November 2, 2024, the Parisians won by the smallest margin (1-0), thanks to a goal from Ousmane Dembélé, who will be absent this afternoon. During the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France, on December 22, the two teams had to decide during the penalty shootout after a draw. And in this game, it was again Paris who came out victorious, in pain (1-1, 4 tab to 3).
16:15 – Lens: Still favors a 3-way defense
Will Still finally decided to return to a three-defender system for this match against PSG, as in the Coupe de France during the previous confrontation between the two teams at Bollaert before the break. Deprived of Danso (suspended), Khusanov (pending departure for Manchester City) and Brice Samba, who left for Rennes, the Lensois coach chose Jonathan Gradit and Malang Sarr to accompany Facundo Medina in central defense. RC Lens starting lineup: Koffi – Frankowski, Gradit, Medina, M. Sarr Machado – Thomasson, Diouf – Sotoca – Nzola, Koyalipou.
16:10 – Lens wants to bring down PSG
After a great victory at Le Havre last week (1-2), RC Lens was able to recharge their batteries all week to prepare for PSG’s visit to Bollaert this Saturday. Against Parisians still undefeated in Ligue 1 after 17 days, the Lensois want to believe in the feat despite their difficulties against the teams at the top of the table in L1 this season. During the first phase, Lens did not win any of its eight matches against the other teams in the first half of the ranking (4 draws for 4 defeats).
16:05 – Paris wants to continue its good series
Three days after qualifying for the round of 16 of the Coupe de France in Clermont against Espaly (2-4), PSG is already back in Ligue 1 with this difficult trip to Lens. With a seven-point lead over OM at the top of the standings, the Parisians are not under pressure but would like to continue their positive momentum with a fourth consecutive victory in Ligue 1, where Luis Enrique’s players are still undefeated.