French Cup holders PSG bar Lille's

Neither Paris Saint-Germain nor Lille have enjoyed resounding success in recent years, but they are worlds apart in terms of French Cup experience ahead of Saturday's final in Paris. Holders PSG, defending the trophy they won in extra time against Monaco last year, will be appearing in their sixth final in nine seasons, while Lille have not graced the showpiece match since 1955. That appearance 56 years ago, a 5-2 defeat of Bordeaux at the old Olympic Stadium in Colombes, also represents Lille's last piece of major silverware. The 1955 triumph crowned a 10-year golden era in which the feted 'War Machine' team from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in France's extreme north won two league titles and five French Cups. The years have been fallow for Lille ever since, but that appears destined to change this season as, apart from Saturday's match, they currently lead the Ligue 1 championship by four points with three games remaining. Having spent the best part of 60 years in the trophy wilderness, the club are now poised to repeat their achievement of 1946 when they laid the foundations for their post-war glory years by securing a league and cup double. "In any case it will be a historic moment," says goalkeeper Mickael Landreau, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday on the day of the final. "Now I want to mark the club's history and allow us to write an extra line in our list of honours by lifting the trophy." Lille secured Champions League qualification by prevailing 2-1 at Saint-Etienne on Tuesday, with captain Rio Mavuba netting a rare winning goal to reward a sterling performance between the sticks by ex-PSG man Landreau. "We cannot but think about this cup final," admitted Lille coach Rudi Garcia afterwards. "It is an event for our club and we fully intend to win it." Central midfielder Florent Balmont is a doubt for the final after he was forced off in the 24th minute at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard with a thigh injury. Garcia will be able to call upon Ivorian forward Gervinho after he completed a suspension, but France centre-back Adil Rami is not certain to play after sitting out the Saint-Etienne match with a rib problem. Like Lille, PSG have enjoyed one of their best seasons in recent memory but their Champions League aspirations took a hit this week following successive draws against Monaco (1-1) and Nancy. The Parisians were held 2-2 at home to third-bottom Nancy on Tuesday, after right-back Christophe Jallet was shown a 20th-minute red card for conceding the penalty that led to Nancy's opening goal. Jallet will subsequently miss Saturday's game through suspension and PSG coach Antoine Kombouare said it was a harsh blow for a player who has been a virtual ever-present this term. "It's terrible for Christophe," said Kombouare, whose team are currently a point behind third-placed Lyon in the league standings. "But staying with disappointment and bitterness isn't good." PSG striker Guillaume Hoarau, the match-winner in last season's final, said the squad would seek to use Jallet's absence as a motivating factor. "We're disappointed for him but it will give us extra motivation to win on Saturday," he said. Brazilian full-back Marcos Ceara is in line to deputise for Jallet after recovering from a hip problem, with centre-back Sylvain Armand also named in the match-day squad after missing the Nancy match due to a knee injury. Kombouare must decide whether to persevere with the strike pairing of Hoarau and Mevlut Erding at Stade de France, or recall playmaker Mathieu Bodmer and revert to the 4-2-3-1 shape he tends to deploy against stronger opposition. PSG are bidding to win their ninth French Cup -- one less than arch-rivals Marseille -- and victory would also make them the first team to retain the trophy since Nantes in 2000.