The Japan Times - PSG host Lille with Champions League blockbuster on the horizon

Luis Enrique's side are 13 points clear in Ligue 1 and sailing towards an 11th title in 13 seasons. They also reached the French Cup semi-finals on Wednesday with a 7-0 rout of fourth-tier Stade Briochin.

The next two weeks though will go a long way to determining how PSG's season is truly judged, given the club has dominated French football since its Qatari takeover in 2011.

Paris host Liverpool next Wednesday at the Parc des Princes and then travel to Anfield for the second leg six days later, in a tie described by Luis Enrique as "extremely attractive".

But the runaway Premier League leaders will present PSG with their most challenging test of the campaign, and Arne Slot's players are set to be well rested after having the weekend off as a result of their early exit from the FA Cup.

That was an issue raised by Lille, who unsuccessfully tried to get their trip to the capital rearranged ahead of their meeting with Borussia Dortmund next Tuesday.

"My only regret is that the Champions League last 16 has been scheduled for a long time," said Lille coach Bruno Genesio.

"So either we didn't believe in French clubs qualifying for the last 16, or perhaps there was another way of doing things and not scheduling a Lille-PSG game three days before the first leg of a Champions League tie."

He added: "It might have been a bit smarter if we'd thought a bit further ahead."

Lille's form has dipped somewhat since a 21-game unbeaten run was ended by Liverpool last month, with winger Edon Zhegrova still sidelined by a groin injury that was initially misdiagnosed and has kept him out since mid-December.

They will also have to contend with Ousmane Dembele, the league's top scorer with 17 goals -- 12 of which have come in his last seven starts.

Lille captain Benjamin Andre, who played with a teenage Dembele at Rennes, said he was not surprised by his former team-mate's transformation into a prolific scorer.

"Every time he played, he scored," Andre said of Dembele's 2015-16 season at Rennes which led to a move to Dortmund.

"He had incredible skills, but a mindset that was a bit out of place in football because he's a bit crazy, very jovial, a bit disconnected.

"He just needed things to click. Once that happens, he's an extraordinary player, he's two-footed, has great instinct. His finishing was just a matter of time."

Marseille host Nantes on Sunday attempting to shake off a 3-0 defeat by Auxerre, with club president Pablo Longoria serving the start of a 15-match ban for claiming his club were victims of "corruption".

Monaco will try to stop their downward spiral at home to out-of-sorts Reims on Friday. Lyon host Brest on Sunday and Habib Beye's resurgent Rennes go to bottom side Montpellier.

Player to watch: Gaetan Laborde

The 30-year-old Nice forward has been instrumental in his team's rise into the Champions League places.

After missing two months with a broken foot early in the season, Laborde had to wait patiently for his chance to return to the line-up but has now made it nearly impossible for coach Franck Haise to leave him out.

Eight of his nine goals -- Laborde is level with Evann Guessand for the team lead -- have come in the last 10 games, coinciding with a run during which Nice have taken 23 points from a possible 30.

He will look to add to that tally against Saint-Etienne, who were thrashed 8-0 away to Nice earlier in the season when Laborde was out injured.

Key stats

12 - Reims are winless in 12 games, dropping from seventh place to 15th in that time.

19 - points collected by Nice this year, the most in Ligue 1 along with PSG.

54 - goals conceded by Montpellier. Only Bordeaux have shipped more at this stage of a season this century.

Fixtures (all times GMT)

Friday

Monaco v Reims (1945)

Saturday

Saint-Etienne v Nice (1600), Lens v Le Havre (1800), Paris Saint-Germain (2005)

Sunday

Lyon v Brest (1400), Montpellier v Rennes, Auxerre v Strasbourg, Angers v Toulouse (1615), Marseille v Nantes (1945)

T.Ueda--JT