PSG and Monaco Meet in Huge Ligue 1 Clash
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Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco meet in the biggest match of the season in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Parc des Princes will be packed for the encounter between the top and third placed teams in the French top flight and Nice will have one eye on the game, as the team which currently sits between the two giants.
The hosts, PSG, have started 2017 in better form than they finished 2016 and have won all five of their competitive games, two of which have been in the league and three in cup competitions. Focusing specifically on Ligue 1 and PSG struggled towards the end of 2016, losing at Montpellier and Guingamp, with a draw at home with Nice sandwiched in-between. Unai Emery has found life tough in the French capital since his move from Sevilla and the club have been spending heavily in the January transfer market, picking up Julian Draxler from Wolfsburg and Goncalo Guedes from Benfica. However, neither player is expected to start this match but may have an influence later in the campaign.
Despite their struggles, PSG have been good at home this season and come into this match undefeated. However, they have dropped points on three occasions, in draws with Saint Etienne, Marseille and Nice.
Monaco have been in superb form since the start of year, winning both of their league matches against Marseille and Lorient. Monaco continued their great from in the Coupe de la Ligue in mid-week, defeating Nancy at home 1-0 and Leonardo Jardim’s team can make a huge statement in the Ligue 1 title race by defeating PSG on their own turf.
Playing away from home will not deter Monaco, despite PSG’s impressive record because they are undefeated in their last five matches on the road and have scored 8 goals in their previous two away league games. The counter-attacking display on show against Marseille in the Stade Velodrome was excellent and Jardim will be hoping for more of the same in this match, as the onus will be on PSG to come forward.
PSG have conceded just 3 goals at home in ten Ligue 1 matches this season but Nice showed they can be broken down and Monaco have scored 64 goals in the league this season, which is 23 goals more than PSG have managed. Away from home, Monaco have scored 27 goals in ten games, at an average of 2.7 goals per game and they will expect to find the back of the net at least once in this game. The question is, can they prevent PSG from scoring? Something which has only happened once in the last fourteen Ligue 1 matches at the Parc des Princes.
This is going to be a great occasion and one not to be missed. Monaco are going to create chances but so will PSG and the best bet is for this game to end in a draw, with both teams scoring.
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