Ligue 1 matchday 8 preview: PSG v Lyon with five level on 14, Monaco v Lille, Lens host Paris FC

Five clubs are level on 14 points at the top of Ligue 1 after seven rounds, and four of them meet this weekend. Lyon, first on goal difference, close the round on Sunday night at Paris Saint-Germain, second, the match to watch first; PSG go into it without Ousmane Dembélé, Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Earlier on Sunday Monaco host Lille, and on Saturday Paris FC, third, go to Lens. Rennes, a point behind the leading five, host Strasbourg, and at the bottom Le Havre are still waiting for a win.

Friday

Stade Brestois 29 v Nice (18:45 UTC, Stade Francis-Le-Blé). Brest, tenth on nine, drew 1–1 at Lille; Nice, thirteenth on eight, lost 2–1 at Lyon and have scored six; only Troyes and Le Havre have scored fewer. The last meeting, in Nice in February, finished 2–2; Brest won 4–1 here in September 2025, and Nice won 6–0 at home in May 2025 and 1–0 here in November 2024.

Saturday

Lens v Paris FC (18:45 UTC, Stade Bollaert-Delelis). Paris FC, third on 14, beat Rennes 4–3 last Sunday, L. Sinayoko scoring twice and setting up both of M. Lopez's goals; Sinayoko has six in the league. Lens, eighth on ten, won 3–1 at Estac Troyes. Lens won both league meetings last season, 2–1 here in October 2025 and 5–0 in Paris in February. The league's probable line-ups have Udol and T. Hazard back for Lens, with Sima and Nawrocki out and five players doubtful; Paris FC are without Sangui and Ikoné.

Sunday

Monaco v Lille (14:00 UTC, Stade Louis II). Monaco, fifth, lost 1–0 at Lorient to a penalty, their first defeat of the season; Lille, fourth, drew 1–1 at home to Brest, Olivier Giroud scoring from the spot. Lille have conceded five, the fewest in the league with Lyon. They have won the last three meetings, 1–0 here in May, 1–0 at home in August 2025 and 2–1 at home in February 2025. Monaco have P. J. Brunner, scorer of four, back but are without Eric Dier, Idumbo, Soubeir and Benzahra, according to the league; Lille are without Ueda, Igamane and Tiago Santos, with Sahraoui a doubt.

Angers v Lorient (16:15 UTC, Stade Raymond Kopa). Angers, fifteenth on seven, lost 5–2 at home to Marseille and have conceded 15; Lorient, seventh on eleven, beat Monaco 1–0 and have conceded six. In the league Lorient won 2–0 at home in February and Angers 2–0 here in October 2025.

Auxerre v Le Mans (16:15 UTC, Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps). Auxerre, twelfth on nine, won 3–1 at Le Havre, D. Namaso scoring twice, but have conceded 17, the most in the league. Le Mans, sixteenth on six, lost 3–0 at home to Toulouse. The sides last met in a competitive match in Ligue 2 in January 2020, when Auxerre won 1–0 at Le Mans; Auxerre won 2–0 here in August 2019.

Marseille v Le Havre (16:15 UTC, Orange Vélodrome). Marseille, ninth on nine, won 5–2 at Angers, Amine Gouiri scoring his fifth of the season. Le Havre, bottom on two, lost 3–1 at home to Auxerre and have no win in seven. Marseille have won the last five meetings, 1–0 at Le Havre in May and 6–2 here in October 2025 the latest two. The league lists Pierre-Emile Højbjerg back for Marseille, with Koum and Derek Cornelius out; Le Havre have Seko back and are without five players, Jelert and Zagadou among them.

Rennes v Strasbourg (16:15 UTC, Roazhon Park). Rennes, sixth on 13, lost 4–3 at Paris FC, where E. Lepaul scored three penalties; he leads the league's scorers with seven. Lepaul is among five Rennes players the league lists as doubtful, and he did not start the 2–2 draw at Juventus in the Europa League on Thursday. Strasbourg, fourteenth on seven, lost 3–1 at home to PSG after leading at half-time. Rennes won the last three meetings, 3–0 in Strasbourg in April, 4–1 here in November 2025 and 1–0 here in February 2025.

Toulouse v Estac Troyes (16:15 UTC, Stadium Municipal). Toulouse, eleventh on nine, won 3–0 at Le Mans, C. Tengstedt scoring his fifth of the season; Troyes, seventeenth on four, lost 3–1 at home to Lens and have lost their last five. Toulouse won both meetings in the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season, 3–0 in Troyes in August 2022 and 4–1 here in February 2023.

Paris Saint-Germain v Lyon (19:45 UTC, Parc des Princes). PSG came from a goal down to win 3–1 at Strasbourg, Dembélé scoring once and setting up another, then beat Barcelona 4–2 in the Champions League on Tuesday. But the club's medical statement says Kvaratskhelia tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in that match and will have surgery, and that Dembélé (left thigh) and Marquinhos (right thigh) will be in treatment for the coming weeks. The league's probable line-ups add Nuno Mendes to the absentees and have Mayulu back. Lyon beat Nice 2–1 and lead the league on goal difference, but Keito Nakamura, sent off on 70 minutes in that match, is suspended, and the league also lists Openda, Tagliafico and Ouédraogo as out, with Pavel Sulc, who scored against Nice, a doubt. Lyon won 2–1 here in April; PSG won the four meetings before that, 3–2 in Lyon in November 2025 among them.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Lyon	7	+8	14
2	Paris Saint-Germain	7	+5	14
3	Paris FC	7	+5	14
4	Lille	7	+5	14
5	Monaco	7	+4	14
6	Rennes	7	+1	13
7	Lorient	7	+1	11
…
15	Angers	7	−6	7
16	Le Mans	7	−5	6
17	Estac Troyes	7	−11	4
18	Le Havre	7	−6	2

Each of the top five has four wins, two draws and one defeat. Lens v Paris FC on Saturday gives Paris FC the chance to lead for a night; Monaco v Lille and PSG v Lyon on Sunday mean at least two of the five drop points, and Rennes can join or pass whoever does. At the bottom, Troyes and Le Havre play Toulouse and Marseille, both on nine.

Numbers to know

• Five sides are level on 14 points; none is unbeaten, and Le Havre are the only side without a win.
• Lyon and Lille have conceded five goals each, the fewest; Auxerre 17, the most.
• Rennes have scored 15, the most; Troyes and Le Havre five, the fewest.
• E. Lepaul (Rennes) leads the scorers with seven, ahead of L. Sinayoko (Paris FC) on six and A. Gouiri (Marseille) and C. Tengstedt (Toulouse) on five.
• Troyes have lost their last five league matches.

The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Ligue 1 page.

Sources for the context: Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1.