Paris Saint-Germain vs Montpellier 02/02/20

2 February 2020

After being ousted from the Coupe de France during midweek, Montpellier face another formidable challenge as they head to the Parc des Princes to take on Ligue 1 (L1) leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

The hosts have put three or more goals past Montpellier in their last four L1 H2Hs (W4), and another such display would take their unbeaten L1 home run to seven matches (W5, D1). Furthermore, free-scoring PSG have hit 19 goals during the above six-game sequence, netting three or more on four of those occasions. One of the most potent attacking teams in Europe, the Parisians have bagged over 2.5 goals per L1 home fixture in five of ten such matches so far this campaign, let alone the fact they’ve found the opening goal eight times. In addition to his devastating firepower, Thomas Tuchel can also rely on his airtight defense that has shipped just six in ten L1 home games, keeping seven clean sheets along the way.

The visitors have overseen an upturn in results lately, going from three successive league defeats to three consecutive victories as they now trail fourth-placed Rennes by four points. Although they’ve reversed their fortunes lately, it will still be a daunting prospect for Montpellier to pick up three points against a strong PSG side they last outplayed at this venue ten years ago. In fact, they’ve suffered five defeats in their previous seven top-flight trips to Paris (D2), drawing a blank six times in a row before succumbing 5-1 last season. It gets worse for ‘La Paillade,’ knowing that they’ve struggled to find the net in three of their last seven L1 road trips.