After the “sensational” warm-up game at the Stade Louis II on Sunday, both Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco will do it all again on Wednesday night as they fight for a place in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.
It was expected that Monaco would feel the effects of a wonderful performance against Arsenal in the Champions League, but PSG seemed intent on passing the world to sleep on Sunday and their lack of cutting edge contributed heavily to the 0-0 stalemate.
With both sets of players well rested on Sunday, there is no excuse for either side not to put in a stunning performance on Wednesday evening.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN – by Andrew Gibney
Story so far
It was been a fairly comfortable journey so far for the Parisians and they have hardly had to break sweat to get to this stage. The defence has been their strongest element this season, so there is no surprise that they have only conceded once in the three games.
Montpellier fell first, barely putting up a fight as Laurent Blanc’s side negotiated the awful Stade Altrad pitch to win 3-0 on the night. Back in Paris, Bordeaux did try to resist with a bit more vigour after going 2-0 down, but Diego Rolan’s early second half strike wasn’t enough to get Willy Sagnol’s side back in the competition.
At the start of the month, Nantes may as well not have bothered making the trip to the capital, all but rolling over to receive their 2-0 defeat. It was professional from PSG, but they only needed to exert the minimum amount of effort in reaching the last eight.
Most Important Players
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended for their Monaco double header, Les Rouges et Bleus will have to find a way to somehow struggle on without their fading talisman. It should give Blanc a chance to play a more free-flowing style, but they need to show more ambition to push forward. If their midfield trio plays as deep as they did during Sunday’s league game, it could be another stalemate.
PSG’s success going forward will come down to either Javier Pastore or Edinson Cavani. The former has to push into more dangerous areas; he can’t spend his time emulating Ibrahimovic by dropping too deep. To aid Pastore, Cavani needs to show the attacking vigour he displayed against Chelsea. With the freedom of the attack he needs to drive into the area, making runs that can tempt the players behind him to make a forward-thinking pass.
At the back, if PSG do push that little further forward, Blanc will need Marquinhos to continue his excellent form and continue to protect the defence on the counter.
Keys to the game
Monaco plays the perfect style to play at the Parc des Princes. They like to sit back, they defend well and hit on the break – just ask Arsenal – and that will be Wednesday’s game plan. If PSG can push from the start and get an early goal, the away side will have to show a little more going forward. That should open up the game. The longer Monaco holds on, the more the home fans will become frustrated and PSG could get caught on the break. Don’t expect a lot of goals.
AS MONACO – by Philippa Booth
Story So Far
Monaco have had a reasonably difficult run in the cup, with no minnows involved, although no really big fish either until this point. They started with a 2-0 away win at midtable Ligue 2 side Nimes, with goals from Bernardo Silva and Valere Germain, before home games against Evian (2-0) and Rennes (3-1). That last match featured an early goal for the now slightly-more-recognisable-than-he-was-at-the-time Almamy Toure, making his professional debut – he has gone on to feature in another knock-out competition when he started against Arsenal in that 3-1 win, as well as a couple of league fixtures.
Most Important Players
Arguably, the most important players for Monaco are whichever apparently randomly assembled collection of players neither injured nor suspended that Jardim puts together in defence. They have ten clean sheets in 13 games in 2015 so far, having used ten different starting backlines. Toure may well have played himself into a starting role, particularly as Fabinho seems to have played himself into midfield; however, Wallace and Abdennour are suspended, and Carvalho and Raggi still doubtful, so you’d guess that Toulalan will step back again, and if both the doubts are out, Toure may move centrally to make up the numbers between Fabinho and Kurzawa at fullback. While this is a particularly tricky staffing issue, you get the feeling that whoever ends up back there, it really doesn’t seem to make much difference.
One interesting choice will be in goal: while Danijel Subasic has been solid, including in the weekend’s league clash with PSG, Martin Stekelenburg has been the cup keeper so far, conceding only two goals in six matches: as well as Henrique’s goal for Rennes, there was also the added-time Lacazette goal in the Coupe de la Ligue which they won on penalties, with Stekelenburg saving from Jordan Ferri. It seems likely that Jardim will stick with him, as form is definitely a factor in eg Toure’s continuing appearances, and Stekelenburg has not really done anything to warrant losing his place.
Further forward, Berbatov. For the aesthetics, if nothing else. OK, mainly for the experience and the languid killer instinct.
Keys to the game
In the big games, Monaco come armed with a plan. Against Arsenal, they soaked up the pressure, looked to hit on the break, and effectively let their opponents shoot themselves in the foot for the third goal. Against PSG in the league, ditto on the soaking, giving up 60% possession at home, and a dozen shots to their half-dozen.
Away at the Parc des Princes, it seems likely that the same approach will be used, as even though this is win-on-the-night football, Monaco will be confident that they can make a break count, given the speed of Ferreira Carrasco, the skill of Kondogbia, and Kurzawa bombing up the flanks, all looking to get the ball to either Martial or Berbatov if they can’t finish it themselves. Given that situation, Berba seems the likelier starter, as the more canny and clinical operator than the impressive youngster.
Somebody’s going to win this 1-0, possibly in extra time, and it could well be Monaco.
[…] Paris Saint-Germain v AS Monaco: Coupe de France Preview […]