Ligue 1 leaders PSG make the trip to Stade de la Source to face third-tier US Orleans in a Coupe de France Round of 32 tie on Saturday evening.
US Orleans demonstrated impressive resilience to begin the New Year on a positive note, thanks to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Nimes a fortnight back to set up this weekend’s Round of 32 meeting wth PSG.
Karim Mokeddem’s side fell behind to Gauthier Laurens’s opener around the half-hour mark before rallying via strikes from Adrian Dabasse and Arnold Vula. Currently sitting 12th in the third-tier of the French football pyramid, Orleans have recovered from a slow start to the season, winning five of their past six games in all competitions.
But they come into this clash on the back of a 2-1 defeat against Red Star in their most recent league outing. Orleans could not face any tougher task, though, as French giants and top-flight champions PSG look to continue their impressive form since the turn of the year.
The visitors handed sixth-tier Revel a 9-0 drubbing in their last 32 Coupe de France tie at Stade Pierre-Fabre, with Kylian Mbappe notably grabbing a hat-trick in that game. Les Parisiens followed that up with a 2-0 win over last season’s runners-up, Lens, in their last league outing to open up a five-point cushion at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
They have now won their past four games and are undefeated in 11 consecutive games since losing 2-1 to AC Milan in November. Head and shoulders above their opponents on paper, they will be looking to secure a pretty straightforward route to the Last 16 of the Coupe de France. The Hard Tackle now takes a closer look at the encounter and how both sides could line up on Saturday.
Team News & Tactics
US Orleans
Orleans have only one notable absentee ahead of the visit of PSG, with Arthur Lallias still nursing a long-term injury that has kept him sidelined since July. There will be no illusions about the contrast in quality between the two clubs, and Orleans are expected to set up in either a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 system.
Vincent Viot is the No. 1 in between the sticks, but Owen-Cesaire Matimbou has been featuring in the Coupe de France and could continue to do so. Guadaloupe central defender Nicolas Saint-Ruf is the team’s captain and will marshal the back three alongside compatriots, Jean-Pierre Morgan and Steve Solvet.
Jimmy Halby-Toure and Ryan Ponti are likely to start as attacking wingbacks on the left and right sides, respectively. In the middle of the park, former Red Star playmaker Loic Goujon has established himself as a key figure, and youngster Lucas Bretelle is likely to start alongside him.
The hosts should again turn to Kevin Fortune for inspiration up front, with five goals and four assists from 16 outings across all competitions. Adrian Dabasse and Arnold Vula are other potent attacking weapons alongside him, with nine goals between them this season.
Probable Lineup (4-4-3): Matimbou; Morgan, Saint-Ruf, Solvet; Ponti, Goujon, Bretelle, Halby; Fortune, Vula, Dabasse
Paris Saint-Germain
New signing Lucas Beraldo could slot straight into PSG’s backline thanks to the ankle injury suffered by Milan Skriniar against Toulouse, with the Slovak supposedly at risk of missing the rest of the season. Achraf Hakimi is at AFCON, representing Morocco, and Lee Kang-in is playing for South Korea at the Asian Cup.
Nordi Mukiele may play at right wing-back, despite being on the brink of joining Bayern Munich, but Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Nuno Mendes (hamstring), Alexandre Letellier (illness), Arnau Tenas (shoulder), and Sergio Rico (head trauma) will all miss this one.
Back-up keeper Arnau Tenas, who has missed five straight games with a shoulder problem, is inching closer to making a return to the bench. But this game may come too soon for the Spaniard, which means veteran Keylor Navas could be in line for a rare start in goal for PSG, with Gianluigi Donnarumma likely to be rested.
Manuel Ugarte could be pushed back to a makeshift centre-back role alongside Danilo Pereira and Beraldo in the back three. Carlos Soler will provide the experience in the middle of the park, alongside Cher Ndour.
The frontline is where PSG’s true strength lies, and the quartet of Bradley Barcola, Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele, and Marco Asensio should prove daunting to the Orleans backline, with Kylian Mbappe to call upon off the bench if things go awry on Saturday evening.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Navas; Beraldo, Pereira, Ugarte; Mukiele, Soler, Ndour, and Kolo Muani; Dembele, Asensio, Barcola
Key Stats
- PSG have won 16 of their last 19 French Cup games.
- The Parisians have won 10 of their last 11 Ligue 1 matches.
- Orleans have won five of their last seven Coupe de France Round of 32 ties, losing only in 1981 and 2007.
- In the last three competitive meetings between the two sides, PSG have lost once and won once (D1).
- Orleans forward Adrian Dabasse has scored in three of his last four games.
Player to Watch
Bradley Barcola
While some of the PSG signings are still flattering to deceive, Bradley Barcola is showing he belongs in the shirt that has been donned by so many fine forwards. The £40 million signing from Lyon complements well with Kylian Mbappe, linking with his ability to both player accurate key passes and make perfectly-timed runs onto balls from the PSG No. 7.
His finish for the goal against RC Lens was simply sensational, and he will be looking to boost his goals and assist numbers against a lower-tier opposition here.
Prediction
US Orleans 0-4 PSG
Orleans will no doubt try to make things difficult, but their efforts are likely to go in vain against a much superior PSG side. While Luis Enrique will certainly rotate heavily on Saturday, they have more than enough quality throughout their ranks to put the third-tier hosts to the sword and cruise through to the Coupe de France Round of 16, with their squad players keen to impress.
