Ligue 1 preview – Montpellier HSC vs. Paris Saint-Germain
French Ligue 1 top ranked team, Montpellier HSC, take on Paris Saint-Germain on September 24 at Stade de la Mosson in Week 8 of the 2011/12 Ligue 1 Championelle.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Montpellier-HSC-c39945
Montpellier managed to come reclaim the top spot of Ligue 1 championship by beating newly promoted AC Ajaccio 3-1 in their last game. La Paillade have lost only once this season, when they were beaten 2-1 by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 in the fourth week of the ongoing
Championnat.
The Herault-based club have come far from their last season’s performance, where they finished 14th in the Ligue 1. This season, La Paillade have already beaten the top ranked teams from 2010/11 term such as LOSC Lille and Stade Rennais.
In their last game against Ajaccio, MHSC were not able to dictate the game as expected of them, but managed to make their attacks count early in the game by scoring 3 goals within 35 minutes of the game. Lack of possession created signs of frustration in
Montpellier the half, as they conceded four yellow cards and a red to Abdelhamid El Kaoutari.
La Paillade coach Rene Girard has been looking forward to their clash with the ostentatious Paris Saint-Germain. The French tactician was quoted saying, “It's a timely match against a team that has made a huge effort in terms of recruitment. We're in the
best psychological condition to play this match. And we're the leaders, so we'll have to deal with that too.”
Montpellier have not lost to PSG at home since 1999 and will be looking keep this record intact. Coach Rene Girard is confident that his team will do well in the upcoming challenge and will be able retain their top position.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain have been unbeaten since their opening game in the first week of Ligue 1 Championnat, when they lost to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Lorient-c39153 1-0. PSG qualified for the UEFA Europa league and even registered their first win against Salzburg side 3-1.
Les Parisiens have won four games in the Championelle so far. Although they were in trouble in the first half at Parc des Sports, when they faced Ligue 1 rookies Evian TG, the capital club managed to keep their unbeaten run intact thanks to the efforts of
Javier Pastore and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Bodmer-c24679.
In their last game against OGC Nice, Les Rouge-et-Bleu dominated the game and managed to convert two penalties to win the match 2-1, though, not without causing a drama on the field.
When given a penalty, Nene, intending to silence the criticism on his performance, grabbed the ball from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kevin-Gameiro-c20721 in order take the glory for himself. This led to a squabble that acting captain Ceara had to resolve.
In an interview, Les Parisiens coach Antoine Kombouare said that there are egos in any squad and if the egos are directed in the right direction it can create positive results for the team.
In regards to the upcoming encounter, the French tactician was quoted saying, “Montpellier is not a ground that suits is. Their fans get tight behind them and they have a coach Rene Girard, who knows how to do a good http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684.”
Les Rouge-et-Bleu’s new forward line of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jeremy-Menez-c18345 and Kevin Gameiro have already established a great understanding in recent games and would prove a great threat for the Montpellier defence.
Team News
Montpellier HSC
There have been numerous injuries reported from La Paillade camp. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cyril-Jeunechamp-c9678, Nenad Dzodic and Gregory Lacombe are all out due to injuries.
On the other hand, top goalscorer for Montpellier, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hilton-c16219, will start the game after being rested in the midweek game against AC Ajaccio.
Paris Saint-Germain
Out from the squad is striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mohamed-Sissoko-c26386 are expected to return from their injuries in October 2011.
Prediction
Both teams will be looking to outclass each other. PSG have a great offence, whereas Montpellier have are good in defence. Chances are that the match will end in a draw.
Predicted final score: Montpellier 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain
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