Linas-Montlhéry vs Paris Saint-Germain 06/01/20

6 January 2020

Paris Saint-Germain will kick off their 2020 campaign at the Stade Robert-Bobin in a low-profile Coupe de France round-of-32 encounter with the lower-league side Linas-Montlhéry.

The hosts have started their Coupe de France adventure with a tight 3-2 victory over another lower-league outfit Le Fleche in the seventh qualifying round before clinching a 3-1 triumph over Evreux in the round of 64. Interestingly, both of those fixtures have seen Linas-Montlhéry ship the opening goal and reply inside the next nine minutes. Currently competing in the 6th division of French football, they barely stand a chance against the Ligue 1 powerhouse in what will be their first-ever opportunity to meet an elite club in a competitive match.

Huge pre-match favorites, the visitors have picked up six consecutive wins in all competitions before the Christmas break, scoring over 3.5 match goals in the last four. What’s more, each of those four victories has seen PSG open the scoring inside the first 35 minutes and add at least two more goals in the second half. The Parisians are unlikely to concede a goal here, as their airtight defense kept eight clean sheets in their last 15 competitive outings, allowing over 1.5 match goals only twice in the other seven. Additionally, six of PSG’s ten competitive away wins this season have been accompanied by a blank sheet, with Thomas Tuchel’s men restricting their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match in the other four. Also, the reigning Ligue 1 holders tend to move through the gears after the break, with nine of their last 15 away goals scored coming in the second half.