Matchday 38: Highlights of every Ligue 1 game
Jun 5After an impressive start to the Euro 2024 qualifiers for the French national team, Ligue 1 is back this weekend.
There are big games at both ends of the division as PSG aim to get back on track in their bid to secure a fifth title in six seasons.
Read on for the lowdown on the weekend's main storylines, plus information on how you can watch six Ligue 1 games live on BT Sport.
Join the home of live sport for just £29.99 per month. Get instant access to the BT Sport app, with no contract and no BT broadband required.
Can PSG bounce back from rare defeat?
Occasional blips have happened to PSG in Ligue 1 this season and typically there has been an immediate response from Christophe Galtier's team.
The fans demand that and it will be the expectation again as the league leaders host mid-table Lyon on Saturday night.
There is no room for complacency; Lyon may be having a disappointing season but they are capable of catching PSG out if performances are below par, as they were last time out against Rennes.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both started in that game but were unable to have their usual influence, nullified by their disciplined opponents.
.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/landscape-mobile.570.321.jpg)
And Rennes may well have set the blueprint now for teams looking to leave the Parc des Princes with a positive result.
Lyon, for all their issues this season, are relatively strong defensively - they have conceded 32 goals in 28 games - and difficult to beat: they have drawn their last three matches and are unbeaten in four.
If top scorer Alexandre Lacazette is on form, they could pose some questions to an increasingly jittery PSG defence, too.
Can David beat Goliath in the Golden Boot race?
Lille’s Jonathan David has been exceptional since the turn of the year, scoring 11 goals in Ligue 1 and catapulting himself into a genuine race for the Golden Boot with Mbappe.
Finishing as the division’s top scorer has generally been a formality for the PSG forward in recent seasons, but things are different this term.
David netted a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Lyon earlier this month to draw level with Mbappe on 19 Ligue 1 goals.
Inevitably, the 23-year-old’s form has led to speculation of a big-money move to some of Europe’s elite clubs, but for now Lille have a special player on their hands.
With his team still in contention for European football next season, David will be keen to get on the scoresheet again as Lille host Lorient on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors are having a decent season, too, sitting eighth after just one defeat in their last five. But all eyes will be on David as he seeks to outdo one of football’s greatest talents and put himself in the spotlight.
Todibo out to prove himself after France callup
Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo has excelled for Nice this season, so much so that he was included in the shortlist to be selected for France during the international break.
The 23-year-old centre-back, who has already captained his club, originally missed out on a place in Didier Deschamps’ final squad, but was drafted in after injury to Arsenal’s William Saliba.
“Naturally, there was a bit of disappointment, as I had hoped to be included in the squad,” he told Get French Football before the change in plans.
“To be completely honest, I’m quite a patient person. It will happen in time and my football will do the talking.I am hungry to improve. That’s not an issue for me. There is no problem with me not being called up today. I hope to be called up the next time or if not then, the time after that.”
2022 Catherine Steenkeste
Todibo did, in the end, travel with the French squad, although he didn’t make it onto the pitch. He will be aiming to put any disappointment behind him this weekend as Nice, unbeaten in 11, travel to bottom side Angers.
The former Barcelona defender has been a key man during Le Gym’s superb recent run, which has seen them climb from mid-table obscurity to seventh. Qualification for the Conference League again isn’t out of the question.
But for now the focus will be on the next game and, for Todibo, a clean sheet.
Monaco and Strasbourg meet in key clash at opposite ends of the table
There were just six points between third-placed Monaco and sixth-placed Strasbourg in the final Ligue 1 standings last season.
This year it’s a very different story, with the latter struggling badly at the wrong end of the table and embroiled in a relegation battle.
Monaco are once again contenders for a Champions League spot, although they are lagging slightly behind Lens, three points ahead in third.
Wins are crucial at this stage of the season, then, as both teams search for points for different reasons.
Strasbourg gave themselves some breathing room with victory over Auxerre last time out, a result that left them three points clear of the final relegation place.
A draw at Marseille was promising, too, and Frédéric Antonetti’s side will hope to build on this recent improvement with a positive result on the French Riviera this weekend.
