Paris Saint-Germain will be aiming to regain their momentum in Ligue 1 when they face Dijon at Stade Gaston Gerard this Saturday.
PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino will be raring to grab all three points against a struggling Dijon side on Saturday afternoon at Stade Gaston Gerard as he looks to re-establish his side’s superiority in Ligue 1. As the season heads towards the business end of the term, the reigning champions cannot effort any more missteps if they are to successfully defend their title.
After an unanticipated defeat against AS Monaco last time out, Les Parisiens will be looking forward to pouncing on this freshly served opportunity to showcase their credibility yet again. The French heavyweights are sitting third in the Ligue 1 table four points below leaders Lille, and a positive outcome could prove to be critical in the context of this season’s title race.
Dijon, meanwhile, need to redeem themselves within no time if they don’t want to get relegated come the end of this term. With just 15 points from their 26 league fixtures, Les Hidoux are rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings and have not won any of their last ten games in all competitions, losing their previous seven in a row, with their latest fixture ending in a 2-1 defeat to Lens.
In the reverse fixture, Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Dijon 4-0 at Parc des Princes, as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe ran the show. And, ahead of this fixture in Ligue 1 on Saturday afternoon, The Hard Tackle will run the rule over both sides.
Team News & Tactics
Dijon
Dijon manager David Linares could breathe a sigh of relief as the Frenchman is heading into this fixture without any significant injury concerns. Mama Balde and Frederic Sammaritano will be back after serving out their suspensions and should play a role against the champions.
Linares will likely set his team in a 5-4-1 formation, and given the opposition’s attacking firepower, they need to ensure stability in the defensive region. Anthony Racioppi should be the starter between the sticks. In front of him Senou Coulibaly, Bruno Ecuele Manga and Jonathan Panzo will be placed as the three men centre-back pairing to stop the PSG attackers from causing damage.
Sacha Boey ought to start at right-back and cannot afford to lose sight of the dangerous Kylian Mbappe. N’gonda Muzinga should get the nod on the left-side of the defensive unit that is likely to stay deep and compact.
Didier Ndong has been one of the better performers for Dijon this campaign, and the No. 22 will be looking forward to asserting his authority in the middle along with the Frenchman Wesley Lautoa.
Bersant Celina will play a pivotal part in this event starting out on the right-wing from where he will look to create chances for the attackers. 29-year-old Jordan Marie should retain his place in the first eleven and will need to put in a shift off the ball to cut out spaces for the PSG players.
Mounir Chouiar will retain his position upfront as the sole striker although the likes of Roger Assale and Moussa Konate are other options at the manager’s disposal.
Probable Lineup (5-4-1): Racioppi; Boey, Coulibaly, Ecuele Manga, Panzo, Muzinga; Celina, Ndong, Lautoa, Marie; Chouiar
Paris Saint-Germain
Mauricio Pochettino will be aiming for a convincing victory to regain their momentum in the league. However, the Argentine manager is still without Neymar while Angel Di Maria, Marco Verratti, Juan Bernat, Mauro Icardi and Leandro Paredes are among the significant figures who will miss this encounter.
A group of 2️⃣1️⃣ players for the trip to Dijon ? #DFCOPSG
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 26, 2021
Keylor Navas will be the last line of defence for the reigning Ligue 1 champions. In front of the No. 1, Marquinhos will line up at the heart of the PSG defence, alongside Presnel Kimpembe. With Alessandro Florenzi missing, Thilo Kehrer will begin the proceedings as the right-back while Laywin Kurzawa is a certain starter out on the left.
Danilo Pereira should form the midfield double pivot with Idrissa Gueye, with Ander Herrera likely to be dropped from the first eleven due to his bizarre display against Monaco.
Julian Draxler ought to slot in as the No. 10 role from where he will look to pull the strings in the final third. With Pablo Sarabia back in the squad, he should get the nod on the right-wing while Kylian Mbappe is a certainty to feature out on the left.
With Icardi missing, Moise Kean should get a chance to play in his preferred centre-forward position.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Navas; Kehrer, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Pereira, Gueye; Sarabia, Draxler, Mbappe; Kean
Key Stats
- PSG have won 12 of their last 13 matches against Dijon in all competitions.
- PSG have won 7 of their 12 away fixtures in this term. On the other hand, Dijon are yet to grab a single win out of their 13 home fixtures.
- Dijon have scored only four goals at home so far in the league campaign. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain have netted 23 times in their away outings.
- PSG have scored at least 4 goals in their last 3 matches against Dijon in all competitions.
- Kylian Mbappe will be heading to this fixture as the top scorer in Ligue 1 this term with 16 goals. In addition, he has also set up six more goals.
Player to Watch
Kylian Mbappe
Given the number of injuries that PSG are currently dealing with their star man Kylian Mbappe will have to take extra responsibility to get his side back to winning ways. As mentioned earlier, the Frenchman is currently the leading goal-getter in Ligue 1 and has been in top form, even though his team has lacked consistency.
With PSG needing a victory to stay in touch with the league leaders, they will need their main man to fire on Saturday. And going up against one of the poorest defences in the competition, he could wreak havoc at Stade Gaston Gerard.
Prediction
Dijon 0-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Dijon are rooted to the bottom of the table and need to get themselves out of this miserable situation. However, after a disappointing defeat to Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain will be pushing for a strong reaction. And even though they have a host of injury troubles, they still have enough players with the quality to heap further misery on the bottom-feeders on Saturday.