PSG vs. Toulouse: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream, TV Info

Paris Saint-Germain will try to get their title campaign back on track this Saturday when they welcome Toulouse FC to the Parc des Princes. Victory could see the Parisian side go temporarily top of the league with Marseille and Lyon both scheduled to play on Sunday.

Date: Saturday, February 20

Time: 4 p.m. GMT (5 p.m. CET)/11 a.m. ET

Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris

TV Info: beIN Sport (U.S.), Canal+ (France)

Live Stream: beIN Sport Connect (U.S.)

During Tuesday’s Champions League draw with Chelsea, PSG showed that they can play a high-tempo style against one of Europe’s best teams. The problem Laurent Blanc has endured this season, is trying to get his side to play the same way in their domestic games.

Recent league form has been less than inspiring. Losing 4-2 to Bastia after taking a two-goal lead was unthinkable for a team of PSG’s standing. Once can be forgiven, but for it to happen again, last weekend against Caen, shows that the side still has some internal issues.

They may not have lost against Caen but giving up a two-goal lead with only a few minutes remaining, regardless of how many players they had on the pitch when they collapsed, is unforgivable.

PSG’s opponents, Toulouse, may have the same points as Caen this season, but their current form couldn’t be more contrasting. Le Tefece may have won two of their last three games, but they have lost four in a row on their travels.

Alain Casanova’s side are inconsistent at best and are still struggling to find their identity. Unable to decide on their best formation or how to rediscover the form of Wissam Ben Yedder, both are reasons why Toulouse are on the edge of the relegation zone.

Over six years have passed since Toulouse last left Paris with all three points, but back then they were riding high in fifth. In their last six visits they haven’t even left with a single point. Don’t expect that to change on Saturday.

Predicted Formations

PSG: 4-3-3: Salvatore Sirigu; Gregory van der Wiel, Thiago Silva, Zoumana Camara, Lucas Digne; Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi, Javier Pastore; Ezequiel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Toulouse: 4-4-1-1: Ali Ahamada; Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro, Uros Spajic, Dragos Grigore, Pavle Ninkov; Oscar Trejo, Etienne Didot, Abel Aguilar, Martin Braithwaite; Aleksandar Pesic, Wissam Ben Yedder

Players to Watch

Paris Saint-Germain

Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

With the huge amount of injuries that PSG are currently suffering from, Blanc’s senior players need to step up and this is the perfect opportunity for Javier Pastore to return from injury and prove his worth this season.

Depending on the team Blanc picks for Saturday, Pastore could either play in the front three or in the midfield, but either way he will need to make sure he sees plenty of the ball and creates chances to punish Toulouse.

Toulouse FC

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Ben Yedder started the season like a house on fire, scoring six goals by October. Since then he has only found the net twice, and not in the league since November. If Toulouse are to find success this season and get out of trouble, finding Ben Yedder’s shooting boots is crucial.

If Toulouse are to trouble the PSG back line, they will need the 24-year-old to snap out of his slumber. The Parc des Princes would be the ideal place to start.

Key Battle

Michel Euler/Associated Press

No matter how bad his form, or how off colour he may look, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will always be a cause for concern to the opposition. He showed last week against Caen that he can have a bad game and still find a way to punish you.

How TFC’s defence deals with the Swedish striker will be paramount to the game’s outcome. With a two-game suspension on the horizon, Zlatan will be out to make an impact and Uros Spajic will be out to try to keep PSG’s talisman under wraps.

Even if you do stop Ibrahimovic, you still have to deal with the rest of the attack, but if Spajic can put a stop to PSG’s top scorer, Toulouse will have the slightest of chances.

Odds (via Oddchecker)

PSG: 3/10

Draw: 11/2

Toulouse: 11/1