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After taking his first season to adapt to life in France and French football, Messi has been sensational for PSG this term, scoring 13 of his 19 league goals for the club in 2022/23 as well as tallying as many assists to give himself 46 goal involvements in his 49 top-flight outings since his summer 2021 arrival from Barcelona. Since full statistical analysis started in 2006/07, only fellow PSG men Neymar (72 – 47 goals, 25 assists) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (57 – 43 goals, 14 assists) have had more goal involvements in their first half-century of appearances.

WATCH: See what happened when the pair met earlier this season

A significant contribution on Sunday from their FIFA World Cup winner, who scored his 100th international goal and 800th career goal during the international break, would be welcome. Although Christophe Galtier's men sit seven points clear of the field with ten matches remaining, their form has been far from imperious, losing four of their 12 matches in 2023, which is a greater total than they suffered in 35 matches across the whole of 2022.

They went into the international break on the back of a home loss to Rennes, and Galtier, who will be without Carlos Soler (calf) and Nordi Mukiele (hamstring), wants his side to bounce back despite only getting back the majority of his squad in the last couple of days before the match.

"We've had ten days to work with a limited number of players. We've taken care of the little injuries, the players are coming back little by little. On Saturday, we will have a session focused on the game. Paris-Lyon is a classic fixture in this league," said the PSG boss. 

"We need to get back to winning ways after Rennes, and get back on track in the final sprint. We're talking a lot about the preparation for next season, we're discussing with Luis Campos and the president, but I'm mainly focused on the last ten games of the season, looking to clinch the title." 

Lyon have had another tempestuous season, and with nine points separating them from the top five and games running out, another campaign without European football beckons for the seven-time French champions, unless they can win this season's Coupe de France having reached the last four.

"Lyon are one of the great teams, and they are improving game after game," said Galtier, who noted Lyon go to holders Nantes for next Wednesday's Coupe de France semi-final. "They have a Coupe de France semi-final to play a few days later, which is an important objective for them, but they come to the Parc this Sunday with international-level players, youngsters who are expressing themselves well this season. It will be a difficult match against one of the better sides in the league."

Laurent Blanc has, however, managed to get a relatively harmonious tune out of his troops in recent weeks, steering them to a promising run of nine matches in which they have only lost once. They have drawn their last three games though to see their charge up the table lose momentum, and the OL boss, who returns to the club he coached between 2013 and 2016, wants a positive performance to take into the Coupe de France.

"If we want to prepare well for Nantes, we have to do something good in Paris," said Blanc, who will have first-choice goalkeeper Anthony Lopes back after three games out with a broken finger. "We have to take into account how the players who have been injured fare, and also how the match goes. But we mustn't think too much about Nantes, that would be the best way of tripping ourselves up."  

WATCH: See how Rennes defeated PSG last time out

Paris have won 10 of their last 15 league matches with Lyon, and lost just one of their last 14 at home to OL, but the visitors have been strong away from home since the FIFA World Cup, scoring a league-high 16 away goals, thanks in large part to Alexandre Lacazette.

"I didn't imagine or expect we'd be tenth coming into this game, but it's the first step to perform well on Wednesday in the cup, which can save us," said the OL youth academy graduate, who has scored 17 league goals since returning to the club from Arsenal this summer.

"I should have scored a lot more. I also think we have missed out on something. We have all made mistakes at times this season and we've paid for them. That's what's a shame."

Probable teams

PSG: Donnarumma; Marquinhos, Danilo, Ramos; Hakimi, Vitinha, Verratti, Fabian Ruiz; Mendes, Messi, Mbappé

Lyon: Lopes; Kumbedi, Lovren, Lukeba, Tagliafico; Lepenant, Tolisso, Aouar; Barcola, Lacazette, Cherki

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