Nantes vs. PSG: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Paris Saint-Germain are in the middle of a hectic run of fixtures, but Laurent Blanc will hope that Saturday’s visit to Nantes will follow the same pattern it has for the past 11 years.

Les Canaris are in terrible form at the moment—losing their last three games without scoring a single goal—and although the Stade de la Beaujoire can provide an intimidating atmosphere for most, it’s been a happy hunting ground for the Ligue 1 champions.

Back in 2004, it took a 90th-minute penalty from Nantes legend Nicolas Savinaud to steal their last win at home, and Nantes manager Michel Der Zakarian would take the exact same outcome on Saturday.

PSG got back to winning ways on Tuesday, it wasn’t the greatest performance—as discussed in this column—and 3-0 may have flattered the home side, but after two draws, it was a much-needed victory.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic got off the mark against Guingamp, and after the game, Blanc was keen to suggest that he was far from 100 percent, according to Ligue1.com:

“Ibrahimovic was much better in the second half. He is still lacking a little something but, once he gets that, he will start scoring goals. We also need to manage him properly and get him to be at his best level in the big matches.”

With a trip to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League to come on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see who the French boss plays from the start.

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2015

Time: 4:30 p.m. BST (11:30 a.m. ET)

Venue: Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes

TV Info: BT Sport (UK), beIN Sports (U.S.)

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

Form Lines 

FC Nantes	Paris Saint-Germain
Saint-Etienne 2-0 Nantes (Ligue 1)	PSG 3-0 Guingamp (Ligue 1)
Nantes 0-2 Rennes (Ligue 1)	Stade de Reims 1-1 PSG (Ligue 1)
Bordeaux 2-0 Nantes (Ligue 1)	PSG 2-0 Malmo (Champions League)
Nantes 1-0 Stade de Reims (Ligue 1)	PSG 2-2 Bordeaux (Ligue 1)
Angers 0-0 Nantes (Ligue 1)	Monaco – PSG 0-3 (Ligue 1)

Predicted Formations

Blanc has talked a lot about rotation this season, and that is set to continue on Saturday with an eye toward Wednesday’s game with Shakhtar Donetsk.

The shape will remain 4-3-3, but expect a more defensive midfield than we saw against Guingamp. After two good games, Javier Pastore may drop to the bench if Blanc wants to give him a start in the Champions League—with Benjamin Stambouli adding more steel in midfield.

Marco Verratti started Tuesday’s game on the bench, so expect him to take his place from the start. Ibrahimovic’s fitness will determine how much he plays, as Blanc tries to get him back to peak condition. Lucas Moura may find a place in the starting XI.

Der Zakarian isn’t blessed with the same options as Blanc, and expect him to stick with two organised banks of four behind two attackers. It will look more like 4-2-3-1 on paper, but the wide players will tuck in, and the main striker will need support whenever Nantes are allowed time on the ball.

Oswaldo Vizcarrondo has a good record against PSG in the past, so he could come in for Koffi Djidji as the coach tries to find a formula that works. Adryan is available after suspension, the former Leeds United man could play behind a centre-forward, helping add numbers to the midfield.

However, someone like Adrine Thomasson or Birama Toure may offer more to Nantes when they are without the ball for large spells of the game.

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Nantes (4-2-3-1): Remy Riou; Leo Dubois, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, Lorik Cana, Ermir Lenjani; Alejandro Bedoya, Valentin Rongier, Birama Toure, Adrien Thomasson; Lucas Deaux, Yacine Bammou

@gibney_a

PSG (4-3-3): Kevin Trapp; Serge Aurier, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Layvin Kurzawa; Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti, Benjamin Stambouli; Lucas, Angel Di Maria, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Player to Watch

GERARD JULIEN/Getty Images

There have been more outs than ins at Nantes this season, and sadly for Der Zakarian, it saw the spine of his team almost wiped out in the summer.

Kian Hansen made his return to Denmark, Jordan Veretout left for Aston Villa and Chelsea’s late move took Papy Djilobodji to London.

To try to rectify this, Nantes made a move to bring Albanian veteran Lorik Cana back to Ligue 1. The midfielder/defender played for both Marseille and PSG before continuing his career in England and Italy.

When Nantes last beat PSG back in 2004, Cana was on the pitch for the away side to see Savinaud score the last-gasp penalty—it would be a fitting tale if the 32-year-old was to inspire Les Canaris to victory 11 years later.

Vastly experienced, Cana has slipped in to replace Djilobodji at the heart of the defence. A completely different style of player, the hope is he can add more brain than brawn to the Canaris back line—but facing Zlatan, Cavani, Di Maria and Co. will be the toughest test.

Key Battle

JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/Getty Images

Nantes' shyness in front of goal will not be helped by the continued absence of Icelandic striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. The former Ajax man has yet to open his account for his new club, and he will have to wait another week to make an impact.

After being sent off against Rennes in the recent derby, the French league gave him a two-game ban (article in French). Interestingly, he should have missed the games in Weeks 6 and 7, but the rearrangement of their away trip to Lille will see him miss the visit of PSG.

In his absence, the pressure falls on the shoulders of either Emiliano Sala or Yacine Bammou. The latter used to work in the PSG store on the Champs d’Elysse while he played for Parisian side Evry in the fifth division—still to fully convince of his talent, he will be determined to find the net against the champions if given the chance.

Odds (via Odds Shark)

Home win: 69-10

Away win: 100-213

Draw: 149-50