Caen vs. Paris Saint-Germain: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Already crowned Autumn champions, Paris Saint-Germain go into Saturday’s game with Stade Malherbe Caen looking to complete the first half of the season unbeaten.
Over the past 18 games, Laurent Blanc’s side have only dropped points on three occasions, and after Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de la Ligue, the defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League remains the only blemish on their record.
There will also be a certain motivation to end the year on a high after they struggled for 85 minutes mid-week. Saint-Etienne head coach Christophe Galtier picked a very young side for the cup match, but they held firm and frustrated PSG in Paris. It took an excellent first-touch finish from Edinson Cavani to separate the two sides.
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In theory, Caen, sitting fourth in Ligue 1, should provide even more of a test this weekend, but that is usually when the Parisians take their game to the next level.
Despite their lofty league position, Caen have only won two of their last six games and haven’t picked up a victory in their last three league outings.
Patrice Garande will look for his team to play like they did in the 4-1 win over Bordeaux, and against a side like PSG, their counter-attacking style could be very effective.
It was back in 2008 when Caen last beat the side from the capital at the Stade Michel d’Ornano. An 89th-minute finish from Yoan Gouffran sealed the 3-0 win against Paul Le Guen’s side. It would be the perfect finish to 2015 if the Normand side could repeat that performance.
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2015
Time: 4 p.m. BST (11 a.m ET)
Venue: Stade Michel d’Ornano, Caen
TV Info: Canal Plus (France), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Form Lines
| SM Caen | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Rennes 1-1 Caen (Ligue 1) | PSG 1-0 Saint-Etienne (Coupe de la Ligue) |
| Caen 1-2 Lille (Ligue 1) | PSG 5-1 Lyon (Ligue 1) |
| Monaco 1-1 Caen (Ligue 1) | PSG 2-0 Shakhtar Donestsk (Champions League) |
| Bordeaux 1-4 Caen (Ligue 1) | Nice 0-3 PSG (Ligue 1) |
| Caen 0-0 Angers (Ligue 1) | Angers 0-0 PSG (Ligue 1) |
Caen will be without two of their regular back four for Saturday’s game. Both Emmanuel Imorou and Alassane Yahia are suspended, meaning Chaker Alhadhur will likely play at left-back and Syam Ben Youssef will partner Damien Da Silva in the centre of the defence.
Garande will set up in his usual 4-1-4-1 formation, looking for Nicolas Seube to protect the back four and both Julien Feret and Jonathan Delaplace to create breakaway opportunities through the centre.
Javier Pastore continues to miss out with his groin issue. Blanc revealed during Friday's press conference (in French) that Edinson Cavani could have a problem with his calf muscle, but training later that day would determine the playing squad.
Predicted Formations
Caen (4-1-4-1): Remy Vercoutre; Dennis Appiah, Syam Ben Youssef, Damien Da Silva, Chaker Aldhahur; Nicolas Seube; Ronny Rodelin, Jonathan Delaplace, Julien Feret, Vincent Bessat; Andy Delort
PSG (4-3-3): Kevin Trapp; Serge Aurier; David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Maxwell; Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi; Lucas Moura, Angel Di Maria, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Player to Watch
Back when he played for Tours FC, Andy Delort was one of the most dangerous strikers in Ligue 2, now, after a disappointing spell at Wigan, he is flourishing back in France.
The 24-year-old has scored six goals in 17 starts this season, and throughout his performances, he has shown his all-round abilities and can be at the spearhead of the Caen attack.
Against Marseille, he scored a wonderful long-range effort, then his two goals at Bordeaux and Nice highlighted his pace down the channels and his desire and determination. Delort is the ideal player that you want in a situation when you will be playing the majority of the game.
Key Battle
Keeping the ball is one of PSG’s greatest strengths. They rarely give the ball away, and when they are in the mood, they have the ability to stop the opposition from having time to pass the ball around.
On Saturday, Caen will look to do that to the league leaders: pressing high, pushing the tempo and looking to hit Blanc’s team on the break. They have built their success this season on doing that very well.
Blaise Matuidi told the PSG official website this week:
"Caen are a team full of confidence. Maybe, at the start of the season, they weren't expecting to have such good results. Today, they are sitting pretty in the standings. They will be playing to cause a great upset. We're hard to beat at the moment and we want to finish this first half of the season on a high. We also have a record of points to go looking for over half a season, and that is one of our objectives too. There are three more points on offer and we will try and get them in Caen. The pressure is off them, they have nothing to lose... I hope that means it will be a good game and they we finish with a win.
"
Matuidi will be vital if he starts on Saturday. His strong running, ability to chase back and hard work will be needed if Caen get the chance to break with pace.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Home win: 53-10
Away win: 100-189
Draw: 29-10
