Ligue 1 champions PSG are all set to host eighth-placed Clermont Foot in the final league fixture of the 2022/23 season.
Clermont Foot will hit the road to square up against PSG on Saturday. The visitors will look to continue their good run in the league. Meanwhile, the hosts will be eager to return to winning ways after playing out a draw last time out.
PSG have already claimed that Ligue 1 title. They are four points ahead of second-placed RC Lens with just one game left in the season. With the title done and dusted, Christophe Galtier’s men will look to end the season on a high.
Lionel Messi is all set to feature in his last game for PSG. The Argentine World Cup winner will leave the club in the summer when his contract with the French club expires. Messi will be eager to end his time in Paris on a high and all eyes will be on him this Saturday.
Galtier’s team ended up playing a 1-1 draw in their last fixture against Strasbourg. And, they will hope to return to winning ways and end the season on a high. Meanwhile, the visitors are currently 8th in the league after accumulating 56 points in their 37 outings. They have been putting some impressive shifts in throughout the season and will expect to cause an upset against PSG.
Clermont have won three out of their last five league games, they have only lost once. They managed to return to winning ways in the previous outing. They won 2-0 against Lorient and will hope of continuing their good run against the champions.
Last time around when the two teams met in the league, PSG ended up winning 5-0 and Messi scored a brace. The visitors will hope for a much better outing this time around. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics that could be used by the two teams.
Team News & Tactics
Paris Saint-Germain
Christophe Galtier will be without the services of Sergio Rico, Neymar, Nordi Mukiele, Nuno Mendes, Presnel Kimpembe and Fabian Ruiz who are all out injured.
Meanwhile, there are doubts regarding the availability of Marquinhos and Hugo Ekitike. PSG do have a boost as full-back Achraf Hakimi is back from suspension.
Christophe Galtier answered questions from #PSGtv and the media before our #Ligue1 Round 38 game against Clermont, this Saturday 3 June at 21:00 at the Parc des Princes.#ÁnimoSergioRico https://t.co/HjbvV9QnwM
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) June 1, 2023
Galtier is expected to go ahead with the 3-5-2 formation where Gianluigi Donnarumma will be in goal. El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Danilo Pereira, and Sergio Ramos should form the back three with Marquinhos unlikely to be risked for this fixture.
Hakimi and Juan Bernat will feature as the wing-backs. They will look to help out the back three as well as provide the much-needed width to their attack.
In the centre of the park, Renato Sanches, Vitinha, and Marco Verratti will look to dictate the pace of the game. As far as the attack is concerned, Lionel Messi will start in his final game for PSG alongside French superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Donnarumma; Pereira, Ramos, Bitshiabu; Hakimi, Sanches, Vitinha, Verratti, Bernat; Messi, Mbappe
Clermont Foot
The visitors have no injury concerns ahead of the final game of the season. They will head into this encounter will a fully fit squad.
J-2 avant #PSGCF63 !
Découvrez les déclarations en 🎥 de Pascal Gastien et de Mory Diaw avant le dernier match de la saison, à Paris, ce samedi à 21h 👊🔴🔵
— Clermont Foot 63 (@ClermontFoot) June 1, 2023
Clermont are expected to go ahead with the 3-4-2-1 formations where Mory Diaw will be in goal. Mateusz Wieteska, Maximiliano Caufriez and Alidu Seidu will form the back three. The trio will have the difficult task of keeping two of the best forward in world football quiet.
Mehdi Zeffane and Neto Borges will start out wide as the wing-backs. Johan Gastien and Maxime Gonalons will start as the central midfielders.
Meanwhile, Saîf-Eddine Khaoui and Aïman Maurer will start as the two attacking midfielders. They will look to support the lone forward Grejohn Kyei.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Diaw; Wieteska, Caufriez, Seidu; Zeffane, Gastien, Gonalons, Borges; Khaoui, Maurer; Kyei
Key Stats
- PSG and Clermont Foot have only squared up against each thrice and the home team have won all three matches.
- On average PSG scores five goals against Clermont Foot in Ligue 1.
- PSG have registered 27 wins so far this season, this tally has only been surpassed four times in the history of the league.
- Clermont’s tally of 56 points in the league in their second season is the best in the French top flight since the 1987-88 season.
- The visitors have scored in each of their last 10 matches. It is their longest run in all competitions since 2018.
Player to Watch
Lionel Messi
Messi is all set to feature in his last game for PSG on Saturday. The 35-year-old’s two-year long stay at the French capital is all set to end. And, he would love to end his time in French football on a high with a few goals to his name. Meanwhile, his future is uncertain, with Barcelona attempting to re-sign him. But Messi’s record this season is solid.
The Argentine World Cup winner has 32 goal contributions in his 31 league outings so far. He has found the back of the net on 16 occasions and has as many assists to his name. The former Barcelona star will look to add to his tally in his final appearance against Clermont Foot.
Prediction
Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Clermont Foot
There is a huge gap in quality between the two sides, despite all the hard work that Clermont have put in throughout the season, they might not have enough in their tank to go past a star-studded PSG lineup.
Meanwhile, the home team might have played out a draw in their last outing but they do have a lot of quality in their ranks to bounce back and end the season on a high. With this set to be Messi’s final game for PSG, they will look to give him a fitting farewell. The Hard Tackle predicts a 4-0 win for PSG.