This Friday will see PSG, who continued in their quest for Ligue 1 triumph with an emphatic 6:2 win over Toulouse, host Saint Etienne, who earned a comfortable 3:0 win over Amiens SC. Can Saint Etienne be the team to stop PSG’s deadly momentum in its tracks, or are Les Parisiens too potent in attack to lose their winning streak?
Why not take a look at our season preview for an in-depth analysis of Ligue 1’s summer activity?
PSG vs. Saint. Etienne
3-Way: 1: PSG -526; X: +1129 Draw; 2: St. Etienne +3300
Spread -3: PSG +134; St. Etienne -143
Total +3.5: Over -128; Under +125
PSG
The new Ligue 1 star Neymar produced another outstanding display of talent on his home debut, as did his team as PSG beat Toulouse with an entertaining 6:2 scoreline. Despite the convincing scoreline, it was Toulouse who opened the scoring through Max Gradel. However, it was Neymar who began the rout, with a slick backheel to team mate Adrien Rabiot whose long-range effort was parried, then Neymar followed to slide it home from the rebound. Just four minutes later, Neymar and Adrien Rabiot combined again with a dizzying one-two and a low shot from Rabiot outside the box into the corner of the net.
Half-time came and Toulouse was still in the game and was offered a great chance to gain a result when Marco Veratti was shown a second yellow card after a reckless challenge in Toulouse’s own box. Fortunately for PSG, the team seemed unfazed by the disadvantage of being a man down as they scored four goals in the last fifteen minutes of the game. Their third came through an unfairly given penalty as Toulouse winger Andy Delort got a clear touch on the ball as Neymar went down in the box, leaving Cavani to smash it from the spot into the bottom left corner.
Toulouse replied with a headed corner but the goal couldn’t stop their opponent’s momentum as a stunning placed shot from Pastore found its way into the top right corner, assisted by Di Maria but with Neymar involved once again. Just two minutes later the goal of the game came with an exquisitely executed scissor kick, following a drilled corner from Neymar to set-up the fifth. Finally, Neymar rounded off the goals-galore and an excellent home debut in the sparkling spotlights of Parc des Princes using close dribbling, quick turning and pure determination to leave six defenders for dead in the Toulouse box and leave himself with just the keeper to beat and slot the ball home into the corner of the net.
Neymar’s performances are the huge positive of PSG’s performance, as he was once again the focal point for the team, being heavily involved with each of their six goals. With many parallels to Neymar’s previous performance, one addition was his link-up play with his teammates on the field, with which he already seems to have a telepathic connection. For example, himself, Di Maria and Adrien Rabiot connected well with nice forward play and his corner for Kurzawa’s scissor kick was not only majestic but seemed well rehearsed.
Last season, Toulouse took 4 points off of PSG, which may have added an extra incentive to Unai Emery’s side when they destroyed their opponents’ defense. Despite now scoring eleven goals in their first three games, the two goals conceded will be of concern for Unai Emery and he will have to keep an eye on their defensive duties when they come up against better opponents, such as Saint Etienne on Friday.
The most recent confirmed transfer for PSG has been midfielder Blaise Matuidi, who has joined Juventus for 20 million euros. Additionally, Les Parisiens are still heavily linked with a move for Monaco attacker Kylian Mbappé.
Unai Emery will have a full squad selection for Sunday’s match.
Saint Etienne
Les Verts continued their excellent start to their Ligue 1 2017/18 campaign as they comfortably defeated newly-promoted Amiens 3:0. For the first goal, winger Lois Diony was brought down by Amiens defender Dibassy in the box to give away a penalty, which Jonathan Bamba placed well to add his 2nd of the season. An awful mistake by the Toulouse defense allowed Lois Diony through and he paced towards the box to go 1-on-1 with the keeper, only to be taken down once again, this time by the keeper forcing the referee to blow the whistle for a penalty. This time, Bryan Dabo was allowed to take the spot-kick and scored, marking his first goal for the club. Despite an even game, Saint Etienne added a third as Romain Hamouma would have been through had it not been for an interception from the keeper, who parried it straight to Bryan Dabo, who added a second as the goal was wide open for him to hit the back of the net.
The new manager will be delighted with his team as they have now won three out of three league games, placing themselves in good stead for the remainder of the season. Furthermore, three goals would suggest that they are in fact capable of scoring in their last two games resulted in slight 1:0 wins. Although two of these goals were penalties, both were as a result of Lois Diony’s pace, who caused their opponents defense problems all game; it should be noted that this was his first start for Saint Etienne. Despite the positives, St. Etienne did let Amiens have a fair-share of opportunities with a total of thirteen shots and 54% possession for Amiens.
St. Etienne have been quite active in the transfer window recently with left-back Gabriel Silva joining from Udinese Calcio, another left-back 19-year-old Alexandros Katranis signed from Atromitos Athen and defensive-midfielder Hernani arrived from Zenit St-Petersburg. Going the other way was Jérémy Clément and winger Arnaud Nordin both leaving to AS Nancy.
Manager Oscar Garcia will have a full squad selection for Friday’s game.
PSG vs. Saint Etienne – MATCH PREDICTION
Neymar has been a godsend for PSG or a package sent by Qatari oil money. Either way, early evidence suggests that they could go unbeaten in the league if Neymar stays fit and unhurt. I would expect more goal-frenzies from PSG in the future, including a few in their own end if they continue with an all-out attack.
Saint-Etienne, on the other hand, has looked strong with a very good start to their league campaign, however, their defense is yet to be truly tested and I would expect them to concede their first goal of the season against this Friday’s opponents. Saying that with the addition of Lois Diony to the squad I could see their attack causing problems and I believe they will score.
Overall, with the PSG attack in song and the home advantage, I would expect another convincing win for Les Parisiens with a lot of goals scored, but Saint-Etienne has it in them to score at least once.
MY PICK: Over 3.5 goals (-128)
Additional Pick: Both teams to score (+134)
