Champions Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to build on their first victory of the season over Metz when they travel to Nice for Sunday's Ligue 1 showdown.

In contrast, Nice suffered their first defeat of the new campaign last time out as they succumbed to a 3-1 loss to fellow European hopefuls Montpellier.

Match preview

Nice were unable to build on back-to-back victories against Lens and Strasbourg against Montpellier, as a double from defender Daniel Congre paved the way for a comfortable victory for the hosts.

Veteran defender and captain Dante restored parity for Nice but the damage was inflicted early on for Patrick Vieira's men, who were leapfrogged by their opponents in the table following that defeat.

It is still early days of course, but Vieira will not want to see the loss to Montpellier translate into a slippery slope for his side, who are one of five teams sitting on six points after three matches of the 2020-21 campaign.

Les Aiglons will no doubt be looking to stake their claim for a top-four finish early on before they navigate the Europa League group stage later on in the year, but Nice can be encouraged by their home form ahead of the visit of PSG.

Indeed, Vieira's men have only tasted defeat once on familiar territory in their last 11 league outings, and there may not be a better time to try to secure victory over the champions given their current woes.

PSG's title defence began in the worst possible way with successive defeats to Lens and Marseille – the latter of which saw an already-depleted PSG squad cut down further after a mass brawl and a flurry of red cards.

Despite having to deal with the loss of a number of starters, Thomas Tuchel's men finally got their season up and running against Metz, although they had to rely on an injury-time Julian Draxler winner to see them through.

PSG welcomed several of their most prized assets back to the fold after a wave of coronavirus cases, and Tuchel will be hoping that the narrow victory over Metz acts as the catalyst for his side to push on and look to secure their fourth Ligue 1 title on the bounce.

The fixtures are coming thick and fast for a PSG side who had little time to recuperate following their Champions League heartbreak, but the champions can enjoy a full week of rest before they face Reims after their showdown with Nice.

PSG can boast 11 victories from their last 14 meetings with Nice, including a 4-1 triumph in this fixture last season, while Les Aiglons most recently prevailed against the champions in the 2016-17 campaign.

Nice Ligue 1 form: WWL

Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 form: LLW

Team News

Three Nice players in Kasper Dolberg, Alexis Claude-Maurice and Stanley Nsoki have reportedly tested positive for coronavirus and will not be involved here.

Without their star striker in Dolberg, Vieira could hand 20-year-old Amine Gouiri the chance to impress from the first whistle.

Elsewhere, Danilo and Robson Bambu are not expected to be involved as the Brazilian duo recover from injuries, while Wylan Cyprien continues to be linked with a move away from the club.

As for PSG, Neymar and Leandro Paredes both received two-match suspensions for their involvement in the brawl against Marseille, while Layvin Kurzawa is banned for six games.

The list of absentees does not stop there for Tuchel as Abdou Diallo was given his marching orders in the victory over Metz, while Juan Bernat is out for the long term after rupturing his ACL.

Tuchel expressed his concern over the congested fixture schedule "killing the players" after the victory against Metz, so the PSG boss could shuffle the pack considerably for Sunday's showdown.

Alessandro Florenzi is back in the fold for this one, while Kylian Mbappe could also return after recovering from COVID-19.

Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Atal, Dante, Pelmard, Kamara; Schneiderlin, Melou, Thuram; Ndoye, Gouiri, Lopes

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Navas; Florenzi, Kimpembe, Marquinhos, Bakker; Gueye, Verratti, Draxler; Sarabia, Mbappe, Di Maria

We say: Nice 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain

PSG have endured a woeful start to the new campaign and have lost a plethora of players to injury and suspension recently. Nice, on the whole, are looking strong despite the defeat to Montpellier, so we expect Vieira's men to take all three points against the tired and depleted champions.