Nimes and Paris Saint-Germain will both be looking to build on respective victories in Ligue 1 when the two top-flight sides go head-to-head at the Stade des Costieres on Friday evening.
The hosts picked up a hard-fought 1-0 win over Montpellier before the international break, whereas PSG marched to their fourth triumph in a row over Angers in gameweek six.
Match preview
© Reuters
Nimes headed into their clash with a resolute Montpellier side winless since the opening weekend of the season, and Les Crocodiles were certainly not expected to walk away from that encounter with one point let alone three.
Jerome Arpinon's side stretched their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to three matches as Renaud Ripart's 84th-minute strike proved decisive on the night, with Nimes also managing to take a share of the spoils against Lyon and Lens before the international break.
Things are certainly starting to look up for Les Crocodiles, who will be heading into their encounter with PSG feeling refreshed and with a renewed sense of confidence following three respectable results.
Nimes have managed to distance themselves from the drop zone in recent weeks and now lie 13th in the table - a standing that Arpinon would no doubt be satisfied with come the end of the season - although there is still a long way to go of course.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, PSG are starting to look more like their familiar selves after a shaky start to the season, with the champions looking to secure their fifth victory on the bounce on Friday evening.
Thomas Tuchel's side made light work of their showdown with Angers earlier this month - eventually running out 6-1 winners thanks to goals from Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Idrissa Gueye, Julian Draxler and Alessandro Florenzi.
The capital outfit have now notched up 12 goals in their last four matches and now find themselves in the top four - two points behind current table-toppers Rennes at this early stage of the season.
With just three goals conceded thus far, only Bordeaux and Lille boast a better defensive record than Tuchel's men, although the PSG boss must also factor in a Champions League showdown with Manchester United when it comes to team selection.
PSG comfortably swept aside Nimes 3-0 in the only fixture between the two clubs last season, and the champions have not suffered defeat to Les Crocodiles since the 1992-93 campaign.
Nimes Ligue 1 form: WLLDDW
Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 form: LLWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Nimes will be forced into one change in the heart of defence as Anthony Briancon will miss out through suspension, meaning that Pablo Martinez should deputise alongside Loick Landre.
Haris Duljevic has tested positive for coronavirus while Zinedine Ferhat is on the treatment table with an ankle problem, but new recruit Niclas Eliasson, who recently signed for Nimes from Bristol City, could make his debut on the left-hand side.
Birger Meling started for Norway in their Nations League showdown with Northern Ireland and is certainly not expected to feature from the off against PSG 48 hours later, so Florian Miguel should come back into the first XI here.
As for PSG, the upcoming Champions League showdown with United mixed with players starring for their international sides means that Tuchel will likely field a heavily-changed team for Friday's encounter.
The likes of Mbappe, Marco Verratti, Leandro Paredes and Danilo Pereira all started in midweek for their respective countries and will surely be given the night off here, while fringe players such as Colin Dagba, Jese and new signing Rafinha could all be handed starts.
Marquinhos, Layvin Kurzawa and Angel Di Maria are all suspended, while defensive duo Thilo Kehrer and Juan Bernat are sidelined through injury.
Nimes possible starting lineup:
Reynet; Burner, Landre, Martinez, Miguel; Deaux, Fomba, Benrahou; Ripart, Denkey, Eliasson
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Dagba, Diallo, Kimpembe, Bakker; Gueye, Herrera, Rafinha; Sarabia, Kean, Jese
We say: Nimes 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain
A plethora of PSG's most prized assets will be expected to watch this one from home following their international exploits, and that could gives Nimes an injection of confidence before the match takes place. However, the champions still boast a host of talented players in their ranks and should have too much quality for Arpinon's men, so we are expecting a fifth win in a row for PSG.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:dataData Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Paris Saint-Germain win with a probability of 71.61%. A draw had a probability of 16.3% and a win for Nimes had a probability of 12.11%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 0-2 with a probability of 9.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.35%) and 0-3 (8.25%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.35%), while for a Nimes win it was 2-1 (3.53%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 5.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Paris Saint-Germain would win this match.
