How Paris Saint-Germain Will Line Up Against Anderlecht

Paris Saint-Germain host RSC Anderlecht in the Champions League on Tuesday, just under two weeks after sticking five past them at the Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. The French champions enjoy a handsome lead at the top of Group C at present, and a win over John van den Brom’s side will secure their passage to the latter stages.

PSG’s impressive domestic form has continued since that rampant 5-0 win in Belgium and the team currently sit two points clear at the top of Ligue 1. A 2-2 draw at AS Saint-Etienne proved to be no more than a hiccup for the side from the capital that blew away FC Lorient 4-0 at a rainy Parc des Princes on Friday.

Edinson Cavani bagged a double with Lucas Moura and Jeremy Menez also finding the net, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed the game through injury. According to PSG’s official squad list for their clash with Anderlecht, Cavani will miss the match.

With Ibrahimovic’s fitness uncertain, although he has been selected in the 19-man group, Laurent Blanc is facing the possibility of being without either of his star strikers in Tuesday’s match. It would have presented Hervin Ongenda with the perfect opportunity to gain some much-needed match practice, but the 18-year-old has been left out of the squad entirely.

It begs the question: how does Blanc intend to get around the potential absences of Cavani and Ibrahimovic?

One solution could be to simply swap Cavani from Friday’s formation with Ezequiel Lavezzi, who often played through the middle under Carlo Ancelotti last season. One drawback to that is that Lavezzi is not the most clinical of players, nor is he the most physically imposing.

Without Ibrahimovic or Cavani, there is no real focal point in the side, but what Lavezzi lacks in stature he makes up for with pace and industry.

Jeremy Menez, who scored in Friday’s win over Lorient, is another option in the same role. He played wide on the left of the front three against the Bretons, but if Lavezzi is recalled then it could be more successful to deploy him in his preferred position on the left instead of in the middle.

Menez is like Lavezzi, though, when it comes to playing up front: He is not clinical enough to be seen as anything more than a makeshift option. Perhaps that is all Blanc needs against Anderlecht, but the Frenchman would certainly not be a long-term solution should Cavani and Ibrahimovic’s injury concerns continue.

Another possibility is that Javier Pastore is started and plays behind two others who would lead the line. The Argentine made his return to action after a recent injury layoff against Lorient and was well-received by a crowd who were expected to give him a hostile reception because of his poor form so far this year.

Pastore’s growing confidence was clear to see, and the 24-year-old may have done enough to impress Blanc in order to be welcomed back into the fold. Playing him would almost certainly require the alteration of the currently successful 4-3-3 system, though.

With no recognised striker and focal point, giving Pastore a rare chance to impress in his favoured No. 10 role could prove to be a futile exercise.

This is all assuming that Ibrahimovic is not fit enough to start, though. Given the Swedish international’s good injury record, it is unlikely that Blanc would name him in the squad without the intention of playing him.

In slightly better news on the fitness front, captain Thiago Silva has returned to the squad for the first time since his injury against AS Monaco back in September. He will almost certainly walk straight back into the defence alongside Marquinhos, or perhaps Alex, given the latter’s recent error against Saint-Etienne.

After being selected for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies, the Selecao skipper will need to prove against Anderlecht, and then OGC Nice at the weekend, that he is fit enough to merit selection.

Otherwise, PSG should be at relatively full strength. Christophe Jallet and Lucas Digne are likely to be replaced by Gregory van der Wiel and Maxwell in defence. Adrien Rabiot will also probably make way for Blaise Matuidi to return following some rare rest against Lorient.

Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta should keep their places in the side after impressive showings last week.

The greatest danger for Blanc would be to rush one of Ibrahimovic or Silva back into action for this game. With Cavani and Ibra nursing injuries, some experimentation is to be expected.