PSG vs Strasbourg

Paris Saint-Germain will play host to out-of-sorts Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes as Lionel Messi prepares to make his Ligue 1 debut.

Paris Saint-Germain gear up for their opening home league fixture on the back of Messi’s blockbuster arrival at the Parc des Princes, looking to stretch their winning Ligue 1 streak at this venue to four matches. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner should play a key role in PSG’s efforts to reclaim domestic supremacy as they started the new campaign with a 2-1 comeback win away at Troyes. Another success looks plausible, as ‘Les Parisiens‘ have never lost a competitive match to Strasbourg on home soil (W24, D7), winning the last two home league H2Hs by an aggregate scoreline of 5-0. Worryingly, though, the hosts have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine of their last 11 Ligue 1 outings, having done so in seven of their previous ten.

Meanwhile, a disappointing 2020/21 campaign saw Strasbourg finish a mere two points clear of the relegation play-off spot, and a 2-0 home loss to Angers on Matchday 1 indicates they might be bracing themselves for another underwhelming season. To find Strasbourg’s last clean sheet in an away H2H meeting with PSG, you will have to go back to 1998, meaning another frustrating night lays ahead. On a brighter note, though, the visitors have avoided defeat in four consecutive Ligue 1 trips (W2, D2) after drawing first blood on three occasions. Yet, Strasbourg’s propensity for slow starts witnessed them fail to pick up a single point in their opening three Ligue 1 fixtures last season. A defeat still might not be a foregone conclusion here as ‘Les Coureurs’ returned more points on the road (25) than they did at home (17) last league campaign.