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Aug 30, 2015 at 8pm UK
 
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Preview: AS Monaco vs. Paris Saint-Germain

:Headline: Preview: AS Monaco vs. Paris Saint-Germain: ID:242389: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews the Ligue 1 meeting between AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Louis II.

Two sides with unbeaten records in Ligue 1 this season will go head to head at Stade Louis II this weekend when Paris Saint-Germain travel to AS Monaco.

The reigning French champions sit at the top of the table with wins in all three of their matches so far, while the hosts have five points from a possible nine.


AS Monaco

AS Monaco have had a busy start to the season, attempting to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League campaign, while also trying to keep pace with the reigning French champions.

Despite a 2-1 win over Valencia in the second leg of their Champions League playoff, the Spanish side did enough to knock Leonardo Jardim's men out, resulting in the club dropping into the Europa League, where they will face Anderlecht, Tottenham Hotspur and FK Qarabag.

Monaco started the league campaign well, beating Nice 2-1 in their opening fixture, but have since been held to draws by Lille and Toulouse.

This weekend's hosts had the best defence in the league last season, keeping 20 clean sheets, seven more than PSG, while conceding just 26 goals.

There could still be plenty of transfer activity to come for the principality side, who completed a deal for Manchester City striker Marcos Lopes earlier today. Anthony Martial has been linked with a move to Barcelona, while PSG completed a deal for Layvin Kurzawa this week.

The team have already brought in plenty of new faces this summer though, including loan signings Stephan El Shaarawy, Fabio Coentrao and Helder Costa.

Recent form: LWWWDD
Recent form (all competitions): WWDLDW


Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain have been in clinical form at the start of the 2015-16 Ligue 1 season, winning their first three matches of the year without conceding a single goal.

The defending champions followed up wins of Lille and Ajaccio with a narrow 1-0 victory in their trip to Montpellier last weekend, leaving them as the only side in the French top flight with a 100% record.

PSG also won their final nine fixtures in Ligue 1 last season, leaving them with victories in their last 12 matches in the league. They have not been beaten since March, when Bordeaux secured a narrow 3-2 win over the champions.

Unlike Monaco, PSG have not had the distraction of Champions League qualification at the start of the season, going straight into the group stage. At this week's draw, which took place in Monaco, PSG were placed in a group with Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo.

Laurent Blanc has confirmed that his side has finalised a deal with Monaco's Kurzawa this week, but they missed out on a loan deal for Real Madrid's Coentrao, who joined Monaco earlier this week.

There could still be departures from Parc des Princes, as Edinson Cavani continues to be linked with a move to the Premier League, despite Arsenal insisting that they are not interested in the Uruguayan.

Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWWW


Team News

PSG are likely to be without Javier Pastore after he picked up an ankle injury in last week's win over Montpellier, exiting early in the 1-0 victory.

Summer signing Angel di Maria and last season's top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic are both fit enough to be included in the squad though, having recovered from hamstring and knee injuries respectively.

Layvin Kurzawa was unable to play the second leg of Monaco's tie against Valencia with an ankle injury, although his move to PSG was announced later that evening, so he is likely to miss an immediate return to Stade Louis II.

Monaco's only injury concern is Joao Moutinho, as the midfielder is still sidelined after injuring his ankle in their second match of the campaign, which will keep him out until the end of September.

AS Monaco possible starting lineup:
Subasic, Wallace, Raggi, Toullalan, Toure, Bahlouli, Lemar, Bakayoko, Traore, El Shaarawy, Carrillo

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Trapp, Silva, Maxwell, Aurier, Luiz, Motta, Matuidi, Di Maria, Lavezzi, Ibrahimovic, Cavani


Head To Head

The two sides last met in the Coupe de France in March, where Paris Saint-Germain came away with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from David Luiz and Edinson Cavani.

That result ended a run of seven straight draws between the two sides, dating back to 2010, which included both of last season's league meetings between the two clubs.

Matches between the two sides are often closely contested, with only two of their 41 previous meetings resulting in a greater than two-goal winning margin.

Monaco have beaten PSG 17 times previously, while the current champions have just 10 wins against this weekend's opponents, as well as 14 draws.


We say: AS Monaco 1-2 Paris Saint Germain

Monaco come into this match fresh from the disappointment of their exit from the Champions League, while Paris Saint-Germain have had a week of rest. Although matches between these two sides have yielded a lot of draws in recent years, the possibility of the return of Ibrahimovic and Di Maria should give the visitors the edge.



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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CParis Saint-GermainPSG332110279334673
2MonacoMonaco33197764422264
3Lille331610750321858
4Brest331610750341658
5Nice33159938271154
6Lens33148114335850
7Lyon33155134754-750
8Marseille3312111050401047
9Rennes331210115244846
10Reims33128134046-644
11Toulouse331110124243-143
12Montpellier HSCMontpellier331011124146-540
13StrasbourgStrasbourg33109143748-1139
14NantesNantes3396183051-2133
15Le HavreLe Havre33711153343-1032
16Metz3385203556-2129
17Lorient3368193866-2826
RClermont33510182655-2925
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