On a real high from their Champions League victory against Real Madrid, Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to build momentum by claiming maximum points against Nantes on Saturday.
The Canaries, meanwhile, are also in good form and could move into the top five if they were to secure their fifth successive home win.
Match preview
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Kylian Mbappe stole the headlines on Tuesday night after his silky solo goal in stoppage time helped PSG secure a narrow 1-0 win over 13-time European champions Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in Paris.
Earlier in the contest, Lionel Messi had a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois, but it was Los Blancos transfer target Mbappe who spared the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner his blushes, with his moment of magic providing the Parisian outfit with a slender advantage to take to the Santiago Bernabeu next month.
Mauricio Pochettino's side now have two Ligue 1 fixtures to focus on before the second leg with Real Madrid, starting with Saturday's encounter against European hopefuls Nantes.
PSG are unbeaten in each of their last 15 league games, but three of their last four away fixtures have ended as 1-1 draws against Lens, Lorient and Lyon.
The current Ligue 1 leaders, who are 13 points clear of their nearest challengers Marseille in second, secured a 3-1 victory against Nantes in the reverse fixture, and they will be full of confidence heading to the Stade de la Beaujoire as they seek their fifth successive top-flight win.
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After booking their place in the Coupe de France semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Bastia last Thursday, Nantes claimed all three points in their Ligue 1 clash against 10-man Reims last weekend.
The dismissal of Yunis Abdelhamid in the 14th minute proved costly for the visitors as Moses Simon converted the resulting free kick, helping the Canaries secure their 10th league win of the campaign.
Antoine Kombouare's men have moved up to ninth in the top-flight standings, just two points behind Rennes in fifth, who currently occupy the Europa Conference League qualification spot.
Nantes head into Saturday's fixture with a solid home record, after winning six and drawing one of their last seven games at the Stade de la Beaujoire, including victory in each of their last four.
The Canaries have caused an upset on two occasions against PSG in the last three-and-a-half seasons, winning 3-2 on home soil in April 2019 and claiming a 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes in March 2021. Kombouare will be aware of the threats that PSG are likely to pose, but these previous results can motivate his players this weekend as they aim to extend their winning home run to five matches.
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Team News
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Nantes midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy, who has missed the last two matches, is doubtful so Wylan Cyprien is set to start alongside Pedro Chirivella and Andrei Girotto in the middle of the pitch as a result.
Randal Kolo Muani – who has been involved in Nantes' last three goals against PSG in Ligue 1, scoring twice and providing one assist – is set to lead the line in attack alongside Simon and Ludovic Blas.
Jean-Charles Castelletto and Nicolas Pallois should continue in the heart of the defence, joining full-backs Dennis Appiah and Quentin Merlin in the back four.
As for Paris Saint-Germain, Sergio Ramos will have his calf problem assessed ahead of kickoff to see if he can feature this weekend.
Neymar recovered in time to make the bench in midweek and he will now be in contention to start on Saturday, potentially replacing Angel Di Maria in the front three alongside Messi and Mbappe.
Ander Herrera was also passed fit to face Real Madrid but he was an unused substitute; Pochettino may decide to ease the Spaniard back into the first team, so a place on the bench to begin with is expected, with Marco Verratti set to be joined in midfield by two of Leandro Paredes, Idrissa Gueye, Danilo Pereira and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Appiah, Castelletto, Pallois, Merlin; Chirivella, Cyprien, Girotto; Blas, Kolo Muani, Simon
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Mendes; Verratti, Paredes, Gueye; Messi, Mbappe, Neymar
We say: Nantes 2-3 Paris Saint-Germain
PSG will have exerted a lot of energy in their midweek Champions League showdown with Real Madrid, but they will still be strong favourites to come away with victory against Nantes.
The hosts, meanwhile, cannot be underestimated and will likely cause problems for the league leaders in the final third. Nevertheless, the Parisian outfit should do enough to secure all three points from what should be an entertaining contest at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data 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 67.11%. A draw had a probability of 19.2% and a win for Nantes had a probability of 13.65%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 0-2 with a probability of 11.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.75%) and 1-2 (9.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.13%), while for a Nantes win it was 1-0 (4.26%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood.
