Ligue 1 kicks off for 2016 when leaders Paris Saint-Germain host SC Bastia at Parc des Princes on Friday. Both sides advanced to the round of 32 in the Coupe de France in their first games of the new year, so they will be keen to build on those results.

Date: Friday, January 8

Time: 8:30 p.m. CET (7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. EST)

Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris

TV Info: beIN Sports 1 (France), BT Sport 2 (UK), beIN Sports and beIN Sports Ñ (USA)

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect

 

Preamble

Despite being 2-0 down inside of the opening 20 minutes, Bastia upset PSG in Corsica with a shock 4-2 win in the first round of Ligue 1 fixtures in 2015.

Considering the French champions’ lack of complacency since the start of this season, a repeat of that stunning comeback is unlikely in Paris this time around.

However, Ghislain Printant’s men will be encouraged by a less than convincing PSG display in the 1-0 win over ES Wasquehal in the Coupe de France last Sunday, and the Corsicans are likely to face a PSG XI with many players who have not played since last month’s 3-0 win away at SM Caen.

For the capital club, it is a chance to provisionally stretch their lead at the Ligue 1 summit to 22 points ahead of a return to domestic cup action against Olympique Lyonnais in the Coupe de la Ligue next week.

Bastia have never won away at PSG, and I Turchini are currently just three points above the bottom three in Le Championnat. If they can come away from Parc des Princes with even a point, then it would be a valuable one as they continue their battle against relegation.

 

Form Lines (all competitions)

PSG

W 5-1 vs. Olympique Lyonnais (Ligue 1)

W 1-0 vs. AS Saint-Etienne (Coupe de la Ligue round of 16)

W 0-3 vs. Caen (Ligue 1)

W 0-1 vs. Inter Milan (Friendly)

W 0-1 vs. ES Wasquehal (Coupe de France)

 

Bastia

W 1-0 vs. Girondins de Bordeaux (Ligue 1)

L 1-2 vs. AS Monaco (Ligue 1)

D 1-1 vs. ESTAC Troyes (Ligue 1)

W 2-0 vs. Stade de Reims (Ligue 1)

W 0-2 vs. CS Sedan Ardennes (Coupe de France)

 

Predicted Formations

PSG (4-3-3): Trapp; Aurier, Silva (c), Luiz, Maxwell; Verratti, Pastore, Matuidi; Di Maria, Ibrahimovic, Cavani.

Bastia (4-2-3-1): Leca; Cioni, Squillaci, Modesto, Palmieri; Cahuzac (c), Fofana; Danic, Ngando, Ayite; Raspentino.

 

Player to Watch Per Side

After a series of false starts, Javier Pastore is expected to finally make his return to action for PSG against Bastia on Friday.

Although Les Parisiens have continued to accumulate points since the Argentina international last played back in October, Laurent Blanc’s men have missed his creativity.

It is unlikely that El Flaco will dislodge Angel Di Maria, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Edinson Cavani from the starting XI, but a knock to Thiago Motta could give Pastore the chance to start for the first time in Ligue 1 since a 2-0 win away at Bastia back in October.

As for the visitors, joint-top scorer Gael Danic is likely to be one of the main threats to the home defence, and PSG will need to keep him quiet.

The 34-year-old has scored three and laid on three more so far this season, and the Corsicans will be hoping that he can make life difficult for the French giants in the capital on Friday.

 

Key Battle

One of Ligue 1’s most underrated performers in goal this season has been Bastia shot-stopper Jean-Louis Leca. Despite playing behind a porous defence, the 30-year-old has managed to help keep five clean sheets in Ligue 1 alone.

If Bastia can frustrate PSG and limit the number of chances given to the likes of Di Maria, Ibrahimovic and Cavani, then Leca could help his team escape from Parc des Princes with a point or better.

 

Odds (Odds Shark)

PSG: -833

Bastia: +1944

Draw: +721

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