Paris Saint-Germain vs Montpellier 21/02/19
21 February 2019
The undisputed leaders of the French Ligue 1 go head-to-head with the Champions League promotion contenders as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Montpellier to the Parc des Princes.
While the visitors hope they can stretch a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions (W1, D5), the hosts go in search of their fifth successive home victory. The reigning holders are on the verge of securing back-to-back league titles as they currently have a 12-point lead over second-placed Lille, but with two games in hand on the runners-up. The Parisians come into this meeting carrying a four-game winning run during which they’ve scored seven goals while conceded zero in the process. Moreover, Thomas Tuchel’s men have been ruthless at home this season having secured all 12 wins in the French top tier, bagging 42 goals while allowing just 4. But, Neymar’s injury could be the main reason three of PSG’s last five home triumphs have ended with the identical 1-0 scoreline.
Winless on their previous five L1 road trips (D4, L1), the visitors desperately need a positive outcome here to keep their chances of capturing the Champions League promotion alive. Along with Reims, La Paillade have played out more draws than any other French team so far (11), with six of those stalemates arriving away from home. Michel Der Zakarian has to find a way to solve his team’s immense problems in the final third that have seen them score just two goals on their last six road trips across all competitions. As a result of Montpellier’s attacking crisis and stubborn defending, nine of their previous ten competitive clashes have produced under 2.5 goals. Another disappointing fact for Montpellier is that they’ve failed to hit the net on all five of their previous visits to Parc des Princes while they allowed 10 goals in the process.