The Mauricio Pochettino era at Paris Saint-Germain begins on Wednesday, as the French champions travel to St. Etienne for a Ligue 1 clash.
This game will be PSG’s first of the new year following a two-week winter break.
PSG have had an injury-hit, inconsistent start to their season. With the campaign almost at the halfway mark, they find themselves in third position.
PSG are still just a point off leaders Lille, who are ahead of Lyon on goal difference.
However, the Qatari ownership have made a bold call in the past couple of weeks. Thomas Tuchel was relieved off his duties as head coach, and former PSG player Pochettino has been appointed in that role.
The first job for the former Tottenham Hotspur coach will be to ensure that PSG are able to produce consistent results in the league. This is something that their constant injury concerns have not allowed them to do this season.
They face St. Etienne on Wednesday, with their hosts sitting in 14th spot in the league. Their fans are less than impressed with the way that their season has gone so far.
Before the break, St. Etienne went on a run of seven games with just one win, a 2-1 away success at Bordeaux in mid-December. In their last game before the break, they held Monaco to a 2-2 draw away from home.
St. Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain Head-to-Head
In the last 42 games between these sides, St. Etienne have only managed to beat PSG six times. The giants from the French capital have won 24 of those fixtures.
St. Etienne Form Guide: D-D-W-D-D
Paris Saint-Germain Form Guide: W-D-W-L-W
St. Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain Team News
St. Etienne
St. Etienne have midfielder Mahdi Camara and Yvan Neyou suspended, with both of them having accumulated too many yellow cards. However, Harold Moukoudi will return from a suspension.
Panagiotis Retsos, Yvann Macon, Gabriel Silva and Wahbi Khazri are all ruled out of this game with injuries.
Injured: Jeremy Pied, Renato Sanches, Luiz Araujo
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Paris Saint-Germain
Pochettino will have to make do with what he has at the moment, with Paris Saint-Germain suffering from several injury concerns.
Neymar has an ankle injury, while defenders Layvin Kurzawa, Alessandro Florenzi and Presnel Kimpembe are also injured.
Juan Bernat is a long-term absentee, and Rafinha Alcantara has tested positive for COVID-19.
Injured: Neymar, Presnel Kimpembe, Alessandro Florenzi, Layvin Kurzawa, Juan Bernat
Doubtful: Danilo Pereira, Abdou Diallo, Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia
Suspended: None
St. Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain Predicted XI
St. Etienne Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jessy Moulin; Mathieu Debuchy, Harold Moukoudi, Timothee Kolodziejczak, Miguel Trauco; Zaydou Youssouf, Lucas Gourna-Douath; Kevin Monnet-Paquet, Adil Aouchiche, Amaud Nordin; Denis Bouanga
PSG Predicted XI (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Thilo Kehrer, Marquinhos, Timothee Pembele, Mitchell Bakker; Idrissa Gueye, Ander Herrera, Marco Verratti; Angel Di Maria, Moise Kean, Kylian Mbappe
St. Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain Prediction
Despite the fact that PSG are riddled with injuries at the moment, there is enough quality in their squad to see off St. Etienne. They will also be hoping to feel the confidence boost that a new manager often brings.
We are predicting a comfortable win for PSG to begin the Pochettino era.
Prediction: St. Etienne 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Published 05 Jan 2021, 00:08 IST
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