Paris Saint-Germain are welcoming AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes in the first Le Clash-ico of the French Ligue 1 season. PSG are currently third and a win would take them to the top of the table. 1st placed Monaco are looking to add a cushion to keep them at the lead. This may become one of the fiercest clashes created for years to come.
During the summer many pundits and experts predicted Monaco wouldn’t be able to challenge PSG for the title this season, as the club needs time to adapt to the league. In reality, they have showed every aspect that they are ready to claim the title at the end of the season. PSG on the other hand are still a dominate force storming the league with a frightening attacking duo. One of the teams will have their unbeaten streak broken on Sunday and we are surely expecting goals, goals, goals!
Going through their summer signings PSG added Edinson Cavani to their strike-force with Zlatan Ibrahimovic already there. Centre-back Marquinhos and Left-back Lucas Digne were also signed to improve the club’s defence. On the other hand, Monaco were going through a squad revamp with the signings of Radamel Falcao, Joao Moutinho, James Rodriguez, Eric Abidal, Ricardo Carvalho, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Nicolas Isimat-Marin, Jeremy Toulalan, Sergio Romero, Borja Lopez, Fabinho, Anthony Martial, and finally Gaetano Monachello.
This is definitely going to be a clash between the best strikers in the world with PSG offering Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, with Monaco offering Radamel Falcao. The 3 strikers scored a whopping combination of 87 goals in their respective leagues last season. They are all set to start and are raring to go – so let’s hope for goals galore.
PSG’s Season so Far
PSG started the season with shaky 1-1 draws against Montpellier Hérault and AC Ajaccio that surely worried a couple of fans, but that alternated pretty quickly. PSG came back with Ligue 1 wins against Nantes, EA Guingamp, and Bordeaux. They also thrashed Champions League group stage opponents Olympiacos with a 4-1 win. The club is so far unbeaten and are looking to continue their form.
LAST 5
| Comp. | Home | Scores | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| CL | Olympiacos FC | 1 - 4 | Paris Saint-Germain |
| L1 | Girondins de Bordeaux | 0 - 2 | Paris Saint-Germain |
| L1 | Paris Saint-Germain | 2 - 0 | EA Guingamp |
| L1 | FC Nantes | 1 - 2 | Paris Saint-Germain |
| L1 | Paris Saint-Germain | 1 - 1 | AC Ajaccio |
Monaco’s Season so Far
AS Monaco have had a sleek season so far with 4 wins and 1 draw in 5 matches. They kicked off the season with a 2-0 win against Bordeaux and 4-1 thrashing versus Montpellier. Their 2-1 win against title contenders Marseille confirmed that Monaco are taking the league by storm. Pundits started changing their ‘too early for Monaco to win the Ligue 1’ mentality and there was a sudden turnaround.
LAST 5
| Comp. | Home | Scores | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | AS Monaco FC | 1 - 0 | FC Lorient |
| L1 | Olympique de Marseille | 1 - 2 | AS Monaco FC |
| L1 | AS Monaco FC | 0 - 0 | Toulouse FC |
| L1 | AS Monaco FC | 4 - 1 | Montpellier Hérault SC |
| L1 | Girondins de Bordeaux | 0 - 2 | AS Monaco FC |
Expected Line Ups
PSG: Sirigu; Van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Silva, Maxwell; Moura, Matuidi, Motta, Lavezzi; Cavani, Ibrahimovic.
Monaco: Subasic; Fabinho, Carvalho, Abidal, Kurzawa; Kondogbia, Obbadi; Ocampos, Moutinho, Carrasco; Falcao
PSG’s Alex and Monaco’s Jérémy Toulalan are doubts to be available on Sunday. PSG’s Javier Pastore, Monaco’s Valere Germain and Nabil Darir are all out injured.
Stats (via WhoScored)
