By ,
Published May 02, 2016
Lyon, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and league-leaders Lyon will battle on Sunday in a tantalizing top-of-the- table clash at the Stade de Gerland.
Lyon have been the surprise package of the season as the club enters Sunday holding a two-point cushion over second-place Marseille, and a win could extend the lead to five points.
Since falling to Nantes, 3-2, in Coupe de France play on Jan. 20, Lyon have earned three points with a 2-0 victory over Metz, but followed that win up with a rather uninspiring scoreless draw against Monaco.
Lyon had the better of possession, keeping 57 percent of the ball and firing three attempts on target, but they could only take one point away from the match.
The leaders will also be a bit shorthanded on Sunday as defender Milan Bisevac is unavailable for the remainder of the season after rupturing knee ligaments in last week's draw against Monaco.
Bisevac has started 13 games this term for Lyon, but underwent surgery on Thursday to repair the problem, keeping him out of action for up to six months.
Aside from Bisevac, a bigger miss for Lyon is leading scorer Alexandre Lacazette, who will miss the game due to a thigh injury.
Lacazette leads Ligue 1 with 22 goals this season, but the club will now have to find a way to generate offense without their top threat.
PSG, meanwhile, enters the clash in third place in Ligue I with 47 points, but Les Parisiens are in exceptional form, riding a six-match winning streak across all competitions.
Last time out in league play, PSG claimed a 1-0 win over Rennes thanks to a goal from Ezequiel Lavezzi, while four days later the club knocked off Lille, 1-0, to advance to the semifinals in Coupe de France play thanks to a goal from Maxwell.
"We really want to defend our title and that meant we needed to beat Lille tonight," said PSG head coach Laurent Blanc. "I was pleased, obviously with the victory, but also the football, against a very tough side to play against. We dominated the match and didn't give our opponents any hope of knocking us out. It bodes well. I was very pleased by the attitude, to continue to develop our football philosophy."
"I am very happy, there were lots of positives this evening," said defender Thiago Silva. "We have qualified for the final and have the chance to defend our title. It's very good for the confidence ahead of Sunday's league game against Lyon."
A win for the two-time defending champions would take the club one point clear of Lyon.
Also in Ligue 1 on Sunday, Guingamp will aim to extend their unbeaten run across all competitions when the club faces Monaco at the Stade du Roudourou, while Nice will aim to bounce back from a scoreless draw against Metz with a victory over Nantes.
On Saturday, Marseille travels to the Stade de la Route de Lorient to face Rennes looking for a second consecutive win in league play, while Bastia hosts Metz at the Stade Armand-Cesari.
Caen welcomes Toulouse to the Stade Michel d'Ornano, Evian tangles with Bordeaux, Montpellier hosts Lille and Reims battles Lorient.
Friday's action saw Mevlut Erdinc score an equalizer with seven minutes to play as St Etienne and Lens played to a 3-3 draw.
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