There has hardly been a foot put out of place for Paris Saint-Germain so far this season. Four wins from four games and yet to concede a goal, Laurent Blanc’s men are looking to repeat 2014-15’s Ligue 1 victory and give a better showing in the UEFA Champions League.
The rise of Les Parisiens has been meteoric, largely of course due to the investment of Qatari businessman Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Those resources have materialised again this season with high-profile arrivals Angel Di Maria from Manchester United and Layvin Kurzawa from domestic rivals Monaco, reinforcing the team’s intent to dominate French football.
It is interesting to predict what the rest of this season has in store for PSG, yes they will likely win Ligue 1 and probably both the Coupe De La Ligue and Coupe de France, but it is Champions League success that they so crave. Knocked out by eventual winners FC Barcelona at the Quarter-final stage last season was still deemed a failure in Paris, especially given the talent the squad has at its disposal.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani remain two of the most fearsome strikers in world football, while Brazilian pairing Thiago Silva and David Luiz provide a rock-steady defence. Add to that the talents of Di Maria and midfield-anchor Blaise Matuidi, clearly anything less than a win is failure.
It should be a relatively easy path to the knockout stages of the competition for PSG, a tricky couple of games against Real Madrid the only major threat in an otherwise straightforward group.
It is much the same in Ligue 1, there are few teams capable of putting in lung-busting performances that would beat Les Parisiens and it is expected they will dominate similarly to last season, only losing three games and finishing with nine straight victories.
[interaction id=”55f2830c8f1e968801f084cb”]
This week sees Bordeaux come to the Parc des Princes, following on from the 3-0 win at Monaco this match should be another run of the mill win for PSG. Ibrahimovic is still on the lookout for his first goal of the campaign, so expect the iconic stiker to get on the scoresheet, while Cavani will hope to replicate his efforts from the previous match after scoring a brace.
The Par des Princes also sees a visit from Swedish outfit Malmö FF later this week in a Champions League clash. Again, continuing the theme (it is doubtful whether throughout the season we will see many different predictions) PSG have the personnel to win this game quite comfortably. Laurent Blanc will be looking to put down a marker to Real Madrid in this match and it is likely his players will respond with a decent performance.
A fascinating week awaits the French champions, with continuing success on the horizon it is integral to carry over Ligue 1 form into the European competition to create a spring for success in the later rounds.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
