With a win over AS Nancy Lorraine on Saturday at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain can temporarily draw level on points with league leaders AS Monaco. The principality side play Sunday night and PSG will want to put as much pressure on them as possible as they chase their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title.
The match will be a true test of Unai Emery’s ability to get his team focussed. Nancy sit just outside the relegation zone and should pose little threat to a PSG side in excellent form. However, with a trip to the Camp Nou to face FC Barcelona on Wednesday looming, there’s a strong possibility Les Parisiens may overlook their domestic duties and suffer an embarrassing result.
Paris won the previous meeting between these two clubs back in October in a much closer game than many expected. The reigning French champions were up 2-0 after 18 minutes but Nancy responded with a goal in the second-half to set up a thrilling end. PSG were able to hold on for the win but it was far from easy. Relegation-threatened teams are always difficult to face late in the season and Pablo Correa’s team will be up for this one.
Nancy are a combative team who won’t want to lose. They will dig deep and it will doubtless be a tight match and a big battle. Tomorrow is another opportunity for us to continue making progress, so whether they defend with four players or five makes no difference. We know we will have to work hard.–Unai Emery, PSG.fr
Any dropped points on Saturday could all but end PSG’s chances of winning the league this season and Emery will be relying on several big names to put the match away as early as possible. Javier Pastore, who has been in excellent form since returning from injury, is in the squad and it will be interesting to see if he can continue distributing the ball and creating scoring opportunities. Other notable players in the team include Thiago Silva, Marco Verratti, Julian Draxler, and Edinson Cavani. You would typically want most, if not all, of these players to rest ahead of a big UEFA Champions League match but with the league standings as they are, Emery doesn’t have that luxury. That’s not to say some players won’t get a much-needed rest. Angel Di Maria, Marquinhos, Thiago Motta, and Adrien Rabiot will be given the day off so that they’re ready to go against Barcelona.
Starting XI Prediction
(4-3-3) Trapp; Aurier, Silva, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Matuidi, Pastore, Verratti; Draxler, Cavani, Lucas
I expect Nancy to sit back and defend for the full 90 minutes. It will be up to Pastore to unlock the defense and Cavani must be clinical. The sooner PSG can put this game away and give key players a rest the better.
Score Prediction
PSG 2-0 Nancy
Goals from Cavani and Draxler will be the difference. Against a better opponent I would say this could be a trap game but Nancy simply can’t compete with Paris. Eventually quality will win out.
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