Saint-Etienne vs. PSG: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Rather than being left to dwell on their first league defeat of the season, Paris Saint-Germain are straight back into action this week as they take on Saint-Etienne in the last eight of the Coupe de France.
PSG manager Laurent Blanc will be keen to get back to winning ways—not only with the Parisians' key second leg against Chelsea on the horizon, but they won’t want to lose control of the trophy they won last season.
Les Verts, sitting seventh in Ligue 1, face a battle to qualify for Europe next season so this could be their best route of qualifying for the Europa League. However, as PSG have shown this season, although Lyon managed to come out victorious on Sunday, beating Blanc's men is not an easy task.
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Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Time: 8:05 p.m. GMT (3:05 p.m ET)
Venue: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
TV Info: France 3 (France), beIN Sport (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sport Connect (U.S.)
Last Five Results
| L Saint-Etienne 1-2 Caen (Ligue 1) | L Lyon 2-1 PSG (Ligue 1) |
| L Basel 2-1 Saint-Etienne (Europa League) | W PSG 4-1 Reims (Ligue 1) |
| D Marseille 1-1 Saint-Etienne (Ligue 1) | W PSG 2-1 Chelsea (Champions League) |
| W Saint-Etienne 3-2 Basel (Europa League) | D PSG 1-1 Lille (Ligue 1) |
| D Saint-Etienne 1-1 Monaco (Ligue 1) | W PSG 3-0 Lyon (Coupe de France) |
PSG Team News
Laurent Blanc revealed during Tuesday's press conference that Marco Verratti would likely miss Wednesday's game. Angel Di Maria passed some physical examinations, but Blanc wouldn't confirm if the Argentinian would be part of the squad.
Predicted Formation (4-3-3): Salvatore Sirigu; Gregory van der Wiel, Marquinhos, David Luiz, Layvin Kurzawa; Benjamin Stambouli, Marco Verratti, Adrien Rabiot; Javier Pastore, Edinson Cavani, Jean-Kevin Augustin
Saint-Etienne Team News
Saint-Etienne head coach Christophe Galtier goes into Wednesday’s Coupe de France quarter-final without a number of key players (in French). PSG loanee Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Romain Hamouma will both miss the game through injury, with January signing Oussama Tannane unavailable due to a family bereavement.
With Bahebeck and Tannane out, expect Nolan Roux to start upfront, willing to run the channels and provide Saint-Etienne with an outlet. Kevin Monnet-Paquet on the other side will provide a similar threat, but with more ability on the ball.
Predicted Formation (4-3-3): Stephane Ruffier; Kevin Theophile-Catherine, Moustapha Bayal Sall, Florentin Pogba, Franck Tabanou; Fabien Lemoine, Vincent Pajot, Renaud Cohade; Nolan Roux, Alexander Soderlund, Kevin Monnet-Paquet
Player to Watch
Ever since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left les Verts, the club have been constantly looking for a centre-forward to replace the Gabon international. At the start of the campaign, it looked like Robert Beric would be that man. The Slovenian scored three times in seven starts, but his season was finished after a tackle from Jordan Ferri (article in French) against Lyon ruptured knee ligaments.
In January, Alexander Soderlund joined from Rosenborg, and in just his second appearance (in French), the Norwegian scored the winning goal against their rivals Lyon. That made him an instant hero among the home fans. Now, although he has scored just one more goal in nine appearances, his hold-up play and eye for goal could be Saint-Etienne’s only route to goal.
Key Battle
Against Lyon, it was clear that one of PSG’s biggest weaknesses come down the flanks. Brazilian veteran Maxwell showed his age, and Gregory van der Wiel did a great job in showing Blanc what he is missing during Serge Aurier’s suspension.
For Saint-Etienne to have any chance of success on Wednesday, they need to attack down the wing and hope the midfield pushes and presses the same way that Lyon did on Sunday.
With Roux, although he is naturally a centre-forward, he is a player who always gives 100 percent and will run the channels until his legs give way. Monnet-Paquet gives another dimension to the front line, with skill, drive and pace—although he needs to be in the right mood, he has the ability to turn a game and give PSG’s full-backs a game to remember.
Layvin Kurzawa will likely play, to allow Maxwell to rest, but defence is not a strong point of the younger left-back’s game. Pushed back, you take away his attacking strength. It makes for an interesting battle, and this may be where the game will be won.
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Home win: 51-10
Away win: 13-19
Draw: 29-10
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