PSG target perfect ten as Lyon bid to halt crisis
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| AFP |
Runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain will bid to register a tenth successive win in Ligue 1 on Tuesday, while slumping Lyon are hoping to turn things around quickly amid a mounting crisis.
PSG continue to blow away all-comers on their march towards a fourth straight league title with Saturday's 4-1 victory over Troyes, the first game at the Parc des Princes since the 13 November terror attacks, ensuring they will head into the winter break top of the table. Laurent Blanc's men are 13 points clear with a trip to promoted Angers awaiting them next as the first of six fixtures in a busy 19-day stretch leading up to Christmas.
"To be autumn champions with four matches still to play this year is good, but our goal is to be champions come the end of the season," Blanc said after Saturday's thumping win extended their unbeaten league run to 24 matches. "We can pick up even more points between now and the winter break, and I hope we collect a maximum," he added.
Another goal for Zlatan Ibrahimovic would see him surpass Mustapha Dahleb's club-record 85 goals in Ligue 1, with the Swede having drawn level with the mark over the weekend. Operating on a meagre €24m budget, the second smallest in the French top flight, Angers are punching well above their weight in their first season back in Ligue 1 since 1994.
Angers are third in the table, two points behind Caen, despite going four matches without a win prior to Saturday's 2-0 defeat of struggling Lille. Fourth-placed Lyon will aim to rebound from a miserable past week which saw the former seven-time French champions bundled out of the UEFA Champions League group stage in between chastening defeats to Nice and Montpellier.
"We know we're going through a difficult patch," midfielder Clement Grenier said, who made his return after four months out in Friday's 4-2 home loss against resurgent Montpellier. "We have to stay together and we are going to get back on our feet just like we've done before," he added, ahead of Lyon's trip to mid-table Nantes.
Monaco remain well within sight of the European places despite twice squandering a lead in Sunday's pulsating 3-3 draw at Marseille. On Wednesday, Leonardo Jardim's men host Caen, fresh off a 4-1 demolition of slumping Bordeaux, at the Stade Louis II with a chance to join their opponents in the top three.
Saint-Etienne followed up their qualification for the UEFA Europa League knockout phase with a resounding 3-0 home win over Guingamp to banish memories of back-to-back league defeats. Les Verts head to Lille next in what will be Frederic Antonetti's first home game in charge after the northerners dropped into the relegation zone following Saturday's reverse at Angers. Marseille round out the midweek action away to Rennes where Michel's men will seek a fourth consecutive win on their travels.
French Ligue 1 fixtures
Tuesday
Angers v Paris Saint-German, Lorient v Nice, Nantes v Lyon
Wednesday
Troyes v Toulouse, Monaco v Caen, Montpellier v Gazelec Ajaccio, Guingamp v Reims, Bastia v Bordeaux, Lille v Saint-Etienne
Thursday
Rennes v Marseille