Preview: Strasbourg v. Paris

A LOOK AT THE TABLE

Despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Stade Brestois 29 at the Parc des Princes last time out, Paris Saint-Germain remain at the top of the Ligue 1 table. Going into the game at the Stade de la Meinau, Les Parisiens are on a run of 14 straight league matches without defeat (12 wins and two draws), which has helped them rack up 44 points so far – six more than second-placed Nice.

As for Strasbourg, the Alsatian side are finding their feet again after a tough run of results. Having picked up just four points between Matchday 7 and Matchday 14, Racing then earned no fewer than 17 points from their subsequent seven fixtures. With a total of 25 points from 19 games, RCSA currently sit tenth in the table, and after two consecutive 1-1 draws (away to Marseille and Clermont), Les Strasbourgeois will have their hearts set on getting back to winning ways in front of their own fans.

THE TWO TEAMS' CURRENT FORM IN NUMBERS

This Friday, Les Parisiens will be looking to extend their 14-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1, which is the longest ongoing streak without defeat in French football. It would be an understatement to say that Les Rouge et Bleu do well on their travels, too, as they've managed to avoid losing in each of their last 16 away league matches, registering 12 wins and four draws in that time and thereby achieving the longest such run in Europe's top five leagues. Incidentally, the capital club also have a particularly strong recent record against Strasbourg given that they've gone 11 games without tasting defeat against RCSA, notching up seven wins and four draws in that run. Individually, too, it's worth noting that Kylian Mbappé has made 11 goal contributions across his last seven league encounters with the Alsatians, scoring six and assisting in a further five.

Racing, meanwhile, will be hoping to find the back of the net once again against the Paris backline, having managed to do so 13 times in their last eight home games against Les Rouge et Bleu in Ligue 1, although the threat posed by the easterners is a difficult one to identify, as their last eight league goals have been scored by eight different players. Despite it not quite being as long an unbeaten run as Paris Saint-Germain's, RCSA have still gone eight straight games without losing in all competitions; in fact, ever since falling to a 3-0 defeat at the Parc des Princes in October last year, Strasbourg haven't lost a single match at the Stade de la Meinau, thereby turning their home ground into a veritable fortress and promising Les Parisiens a stern test ahead...

THE OPPOSITION'S STRENGTHS

Patrick Vieira and his side mainly set up in either a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, starting with their indispensable captain and Belgium international Matz Sels in between the sticks. At centre-back, too, the writing already seems to be on the wall, with Lucas Perrin expected to start alongside 21-year-old Ivorian Abakar Sylla, while Ismaël Doukouré is out with an ankle injury and Saïdou Sow is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Guinea. Meanwhile, former Rennes defender Gerzino Nyamsi, who is currently set to leave Racing, is therefore unlikely to feature in their matchday squad.

On the right side of defence, the up-and-coming Marvin Senaya appears to be establishing himself as the most plausible option, while the experienced Frédéric Guilbert is likely to line up on the left as a replacement for Thomas Delaine, who is currently returning from injury but will probably find himself not quite fit enough to start Friday's game. In midfield, there's a strong chance that Strasbourg's younger players will be given the reins against Les Parisiens, as 20-year-olds Junior Mwanga and Habib Diarra may well be preferred to Jessy Deminguet in the positions accompanying Mali international Ibrahima Sissoko, while Jean-Eudes Aholou and Sanjin Prcić have recently been frozen out of the squad.

On the right flank, the Alsatians' coaching staff have placed their trust in Dilane Bakwa, who joined the club last summer from Girondins de Bordeaux, while on the left flank, Ângelo, another talented winger, is carving out a place for himself in the starting XI, and at just 19 years old, the Brazil U20 international seems to be the most likely to start there. The centre-forward position will be occupied either by Netherlands U21 international Emanuel Emegha, who has racked up four goals and one assist in all competitions this season and has recently come back from injury, or by Moïse Sahi Dion, whose share of goal contributions is exactly the same as Emegha's. Racing boss Vieira will have to do without Kévin Gameiro, Lebo Mothiba and Jérémy Sebas up top, though, all of whom are injured.