PSG Take On Struggling Reims

PSG Takes on Struggling Reims

Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG has a chance to win two consecutive Ligue 1 matches for the first time since November as they play host to Reims. While PSG has title aspirations, Reims is more concerned about avoiding relegation at this point.

The league leaders are listed as huge -525 soccer betting favorites at home this weekend as Lionel Messi potentially makes his return.

Game: Paris Saint-Germain F.C. vs Stade Reims
Location: Parc des Princes, Paris, France
Date/Time: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET

PSG vs Reims Betting Preview

Head to Head

Kylian Mbappe scored a double as PSG beat Reims 2-0 on the road in late August. PSG has beaten Reims four consecutive times and kept a shutout in each.

Defying recent scores and odds, Reims managed to defeat PSG twice in 2019 by an impressive combined 5-1 scoreline.

Messi Nearing Return, Neymar Not Far Behind

PSG looked a little uninspired heading into its matchup with Brest last weekend. The Parisians had drawn four of their last five matches and lacked creativity up front with Lionel Messi and Neymar out.

Kylian Mbappe scored his 10th league goal as PSG was able to come away with a 2-0 win. Defender Thilo Kehrer also scored for a second straight match. Mbappe has now scored 10 league goals in six consecutive seasons, while no other player has done so more than three times in the same time span.

Mbappe’s goal-scoring form is a bit of a consolation to PSG fans who expect the French star to leave for Real Madrid in the summer. Thankfully, PSG is well stocked in the attacking department.

Messi returned to training this week following his quarantine. The Argentine legend tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks ago and has missed the last two Ligue 1 matches.

Neymar is reportedly not far behind in his recovery from an ankle injury. The mercurial Brazilian suffered ankle ligament damage in November and is currently back in Paris training on his own.

PSG is still missing right back Achraf Hakimi, midfielder Idrissa Gueye and left back Abdou Diallo as their respective teams progressed to the African Cup of Nations Round of 16. Regardless, PSG is still one of the better soccer picks around.

Serial Strugglers Reims Fails to Capitalize

Reims had an excellent month of December. The Red and Whites defeated Lyon, drew with Marseille and advanced to the next round of the Coupe de France.

January hasn’t been as auspicious for the club from northeast France. They managed to progress to the Round of 16 in the Coupe de France but only took one point from two very winnable Ligue 1 matches.

In Reims’ first match of the month, Clermont went down to 10 men in the 14th minute but the Red and Whites were unable to capitalize. The match finished in a frustrating scoreless draw and Reims followed it up with a disappointing loss that saw Metz escape the relegation zone.

It wasn’t a full-strength Metz at that. The now 16th-place side were missing seven players to AFCON. To be fair, Reims were missing three players as well, but certainly not the result that they would have hoped for — at home nonetheless.

Reims have relied on 19-year-old wonderkid Hugo Ekitike for a third of their goals and he’s by far its leading scorer. He’s the highest-scoring teenager in Europe’s top five leagues, but he hasn’t been in the squad for the last two matches.

PSG vs Reims Prediction

For as much as Reims struggles to score goals, they’ve actually had one of France’s best defenses this season. PSG haven’t really been clicking on offense for a while and it stands to reason that it’ll take some time for that to change.

Reims may very well cover the two-goal spread but under three goals seems to be equally as likely and has more favorable odds in the sportsbook. More than three goals haven’t been scored in a Reims Ligue 1 match for nine matches and the same is true in PSG’s last six.