Paris Saint-Germain return to Ligue 1 action on Saturday as they head to Stade Gaston Gérard to take on 13th place Dijon FCO. Securing the win is vital for Les Parisiens as league leaders AS Monaco and OGC Nice kickoff earlier in the day.
PSG have been handed another chance to improve their position in the league, albeit indirectly, and the Dijon clash presents an excellent chance to make amends after the disappointment suffered against Monaco last Sunday.
Earlier in the season, Dijon went on a streak of nine games without a win and in their last four games, they have only one win. The newly promoted side shouldn’t put up too much of a test for Unai Emery’s side especially if they continue their blistering goal-scoring record of late.
Missing from the visitor’s squad will be Kevin Trapp, Marco Verratti, Angel Di Maria, Thomas Meunier, and much to the disappointment of all PSG supporters, Javier Pastore. El Flaco, who returned to the pitch earlier in the week after a long spell out, picked up a muscle injury in training and will be held out as a precaution according to Emery.
Grzegorz Krychowiak, who recently returned from injury after roughly four weeks, has curiously been sent to play with the reserves and will also be unavailable. The move has been described by Emery as a way to get the Poland international back to full strength. The 27-year-old midfielder has played sparingly this season for PSG but he did feature from the start in both matches against Arsenal in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. One would think that Emery would want his defensive expertise at his disposal for their Champions League tie against Barcelona, especially with Thiago Motta suspended for the first leg. The speed at which Krychowiak is re-integrated into the first team will determine whether he still has a role to play at PSG or not.
Starting XI Prediction
Areola; Aurier, Silva, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Rabiot, Motta, Matuidi; Lucas, Cavani, Draxler
I anticipate Emery will continue to rotate the squad with a marathon of fixtures still to come this month. Serge Aurier will be pleased with a second consecutive start as he looks to solidify his spot ahead of Meunier at right-back. The Belgian has been a bright spot for the reigning French champions all season and is offering some serious competition.
Score Prediction
Dijon FCO 0-3 PSG
Subscribe to the PSG Talking podcast (iTunes) (Google Play) and follow us on Twitter @PSGTalk.
