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

Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to advance to the semi-finals of the Coupe de France on Wednesday night, but in fellow Champions League side AS Monaco, it will not be an easy task for the home side at the Parc des Princes. With the Parisian side already having qualified for the Coupe de la Ligue final, Les Monegasque will hope to put stop to PSG’s hopes of a domestic treble.

Date: Wednesday, March 4

Time: 8:00 p.m. GMT (9:00 p.m. CET)/3:00 p.m. ET

Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris

TV Info: beIN Sport (U.S.), France 3 (France)

Live Stream: France 3 Direct (France)

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

On Sunday evening, PSG and Monaco took part in a somewhat gloomy prelude to Wednesday’s main event. It should have been a vibrant, end-to-end battle. PSG were trying to capitalise on Lyon’s slip-up against Lille on Saturday and move into first place for the first time this season, and Monaco had a chance to close the gap on Marseille after they lost 3-2 to Caen after being 2-0 up.

Monaco were obviously suffering from a hangover after their Champions League exploits and PSG just seemed to lack the cutting edge and game plan to breakdown the stubborn Monaco defence.

Playing at the Stade Louis II, the away side had their chances, but accuracy and a killer instinct seemed to pass them by on Sunday night.

On Wednesday, PSG are still without the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic and injured Lucas Moura, so it should be close to the same side that drew 0-0 in the principality. Monaco has a whole host of problems in their defence; even the word makeshift doesn’t quite cover their absentees.

Eighteen-year-old Almamy Toure is their only centre-back left eligible to play, and he’s been playing at right-back. With both Wallace and Aymen Abdennour suspended and Andrea Raggi and Ricardo Carvalho injured, Leandro Jardim has a huge decision to make as to who will partner Jeremy Toulalan in the heart of the defence.

They may have only conceded one goal in 11 games, but that will be seriously put to the test in the French capital on Wednesday night. If they can somehow hold firm, they will then need to summon inspiration from the Arsenal game to find a way past the PSG defence. It may be one step too far for Jardim’s much improved side.

Predicted Formations

PSG: 4-3-3: Nicolas Douchez; Gregory van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Lucas Digne; David Luiz, Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti; Javier Pastore, Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, Edinson Cavani

Monaco: 4-3-3: Maarten Stekelenburg; Nabil Dirar, Almamy Toure, Jeremy Toulalan, Elderson Echiejile; Fabinho, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Joao Moutinho; Bernardo Silva, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Dimitar Berbatov

Players to Watch

Paris Saint-Germain

Jacques Brinon/Associated Press

Javier Pastore got his chance to start in the PSG attack on Sunday, but he failed to make a telling impact. Too often he dropped deeper than he needs to, and took himself away from positions that would trouble the Monaco defence.

If he can learn from that, he will put himself in the right areas and see more of the ball and he will make a difference to the game. If he can make himself available for the ball higher up the pitch, drawing the Monaco defence out, he will make a bigger impact.

AS Monaco

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

Berbatov was superb in Monaco’s 3-1 win over Arsenal. Rested for the league game against PSG, he will be crucial if Les Rogues et Blanc want to put in a counter-attacking performance good enough to trouble the PSG defence. When he is on song, he holds the ball up better than most central strikers, and his ability to find passes and angles that don’t exist are a nightmare to contain.

Key Battle

This is the second of Ibrahimovic’s two-game suspension and another game for Cavani to prove his worth as a central striker. He has never quite impressed enough in the No. 9 role. If he could fire Laurent Blanc’s side into the semi-final of the Coupe de France against a well-organised Monaco side, it would be a great result for striker and club.

He will be up against Toulalan on Wednesday. The former France international midfielder is good enough to cover Cavani’s movement across the ground, but whether or not he is good enough to compete in the air, could be key to who advances through to the semi-finals.

Odds/ (via Oddschecker)

PSG: 8/13

Draw: 14/5

Monaco: 21/4