Paris Saint-Germain visit Stade de l’Aube on Sunday to face last place ESTAC Troyes with a chance to officially win the league.
PSG have won five of the last six against Troyes and will want to continue that streak after a hard-fought win against Chelsea F.C. last Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League. Troyes are currently dead last in Ligue 1 and need 17 points to escape the relegation zone. I expect them to put in a good shift to try and to secure as many points as possible in the remaining fixtures and remain in the top flight of French football. The relatively new club, founded in 1986, has been in poor form as of late, though, with one win and five losses in their last six matches and only two wins all season.
Despite Troyes’ current standing in the table, they have shown improvements, especially defensively. They’ve kept eight of their last 10 opponents at home under three goals. For most of the season, they have looked dangerous on the counter attack, but consistently fail to finish their chances. Troyes have Ligue 1’s worst offense (21 goals scored), worst defense (59 goals allowed), and will need to be far more clinical if they hope to secure any points this weekend.
At the opposite end of the table, Paris Saint-Germain are the runaway leaders, 22 points ahead of second place AS Monaco and boast Ligue 1’s best offense (68 goals scored) and defense (15 goals allowed). In the reverse fixture, Paris emerged with a 4-1 victory and will hope to repeat their performance from last November. PSG currently average 63 percent possession, 89 percent pass accuracy in Ligue 1 and I expect they’ll control the match from kickoff.
After Monaco’s 2-2 draw with Stade de Reims on Friday, PSG can secure the Ligue 1 title with a with a win on Sunday. If they fail to win, the Parisians only require two wins from the remaining nine fixtures to be crowned Ligue 1 champions for the fourth consecutive season. Laurent Blanc will look to rest some key players after their trip to Stamford Bridge with Matuidi and Verratti the key absences. Here’s how I predict they’ll start the game:
Prediction: I expect a routine 2-0 win for PSG. The Troyes frontline are expected to be of little threat to the PSG defense and the trio of Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura, and Angel Di Maria will prove to be the difference. PSG are presented with the perfect chance to win the title and give a few youth products some game time. Look for Cavani and the younger players to build confidence against one of the worst teams in Ligue 1.
