Paris (AFP)

Between Paris SG, shaken from all sides on Sunday, and Lille, which wonders whether the Championship should not be favored, the shock of the knockout stages of the Coupe de France opposes Wednesday (5.45 p.m.) two top names in full questioning.

On paper, the poster between the first two in Ligue 1 has something to enhance the flavor of the late afternoon, at the time of the national curfew at 6:00 p.m.

But Parisians like Lille are wondering about this meeting, like the broadcasters who have postponed the kick-off schedule twice, initially scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and then 4:45 p.m.

The match itself was brought forward to Wednesday, following the qualification of the capital club for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, scheduled at the same time as the other 8ths of the Cup, in early April.

PSG has just experienced a traumatic weekend, marked by a 2-1 defeat against Nantes, 19th in L1, and the burglary, the same evening, of which Angel Di Maria and Marquinhos' father were victims.

"We are a united team, and it affected everyone. Today, the group is a little better," said coach Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday.

On the field side, the certainties born of the feat at Camp Nou against FC Barcelona (4-1), on February 16, in the first leg of the Champions League, came up against the reality of a season that leaves Paris no respite.

The poorly controlled return against Barça (1-1), added to the failed second half against the Canaries, plunged him back into the same slump as in November, when he wondered if he would be able to get out of his hen of C1.

- Neymar package -

Thomas Tuchel's men, at that time, had recovered thanks to a steel mindset and the prowess of Neymar, then in great shape.

But today, "Ney", affected with an adductor, has not played since the beginning of February, and if he has partially resumed collective training, he will still be absent against the Mastiffs.

Paris doubt, the northerner coach Christophe Galtier too, but for other reasons.

Leading the L1 with three points ahead of PSG and Lyon, Losc dreams of a fourth league title.

His draw in Monaco on Sunday (0-0) reinforced his ability to win the Grail.

But course in the Cup and regularity in the league do not necessarily mix well, especially for a team that has reached its limits when it comes to linking L1 and Europa League.

The Lille technician could be tempted to relieve some executives, with a view to the final sprint, which continues on Sunday against Nîmes.

Then will come, on April 3 after the international break, a new shock at the Parc des Princes, almost a "final" for the title.

- "Well figure" -

"I read that I was going to put a D team, not B or C ... but D. There is fatigue so automatically there is management. I think I have two A teams," said Galtier , who will leave Mike Maignan in the cages.

"There are rotations that seem mandatory to me, while aligning a very competitive team. (Paris), it is an important match in my eyes", continued the technician.

"The Cup is a different state of mind," added Benjamin André.

"To have won it (with Rennes in 2019), it's something symbolic. To be well in the two competitions we have left is important."

Why not win it all?

In 2011, the year of his last league title, Eden Hazard's Losc did well in the double, with the Coupe de France.

Wednesday, it is clearly Paris that has the most to lose.

Pochettino repeats to the press every week that his team "wants to win every competition, every game".

A failure in the oldest French competitions, important to PSG who won it 13 times (record), would open a breach under the feet of the Parisians who will continue, Sunday, with a crucial trip to Lyon.

"It's an important week. I remain extremely positive in all this ambient madness", smiled "Poche", citing the coronavirus, the many injuries ...

This season, the players of the capital have not won any of their big posters at the Parc des Princes (Marseille, Lyon, Manchester United, Monaco, Barça).

For them, this is no longer the time to procrastinate.

© 2021 AFP