Paris Saint-Germain – FC Lorient – Ligue 1 preview
Cash-laden Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain host http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Lorient-c39153 in their first game of the 2011/2012 Ligue 1 campaign on August 6, 2011 at the Parc des Princes.
PSG
The most ‘in’ team of Europe is Paris Saint-Germain especially after the takeover of the club’s affairs by Middle-Eastern consortium http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Qatar-c2986 Investment Authority. Since the arrival of the new owners, Les Parisiens have been very active in this summer’s transfer
window.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Leonardo-c22056 joined the club he once played for as its new Sporting Director and the Brazilian was behind most of the signings that Les Parisiens made this summer.
The Qatari owners have been eager to get out their cheque-book and seven new players have already been signed with a possibility of even more to come before the end of the transfer window. This time, the PSG faithful can dare dream that their beloved side
will mount a serious title assault.
“Les Galactiques de Paris” are being touted as favourites to lift the Championelle this season and coach Antoine Kombouare has reportedly told his players in private that he has been given a squad that can definitely win the Championnat.
Anything less than a win on their first game of the season at the sold-out Parc des Princes would come as a huge shock and a disappointment. Even a draw would raise questions about the club’s ability to live up to the hype that has been surrounding the club
for a few months.
However, coach Antoine Kombouare has been cautious over his approach for next season. When asked by the media about the team’s title aspirations, the Frenchman said “People can think what they like. However, if you say to me that PSG are going to qualify
for the Champions League, I would say yes. Beyond that, we will just have to wait and see.”
The French tacticians says that the arrival of new players means that the new players would need time to get to know eachother and adapt to form a chemistry between themselves.
The arrival of QIA had put Kombouare’s future in doubt and the Frenchman admits this. However, he now finds himself with a good and deep squad that is expected to only get stronger every week.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Pastore-c18082 is set to complete his transfer from Palermo this weekend. Buying the talented midfielder was a huge coup for the Parisian club and goes on to show how serious the French side is in its mission to become a major force in Europe.
Lorient
Lorient were one of the most exciting teams in the 2010/2011 Ligue 1 campaign but coach Christian Gourcuff will have to do without the services of the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 this summer.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kevin-Gameiro-c20721 scored 24 goals for Lorient last season before making a move to PSG this summer. With the club having to deal with three major departures this summer, Gourcuff knows that he needs to do a lot of rebuilding.
The Frenchman would be hopeful that new signings http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Coutadeur-c24681 adjust quickly to their new surroundings and would be hoping that his side puts a strong show against a very strong PSG side away from home.
Team news
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Momo-c26769 Sissoko who might not future
until the end of this month.
Lorient
Kevin Monnet-Paquet has a thigh injury but is expected to recover in time for the crucial game. Sebastian Dubarbier, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gabriel-Peñalba-c14328 and Sigmary Diarra are all out injured.
Prediction
With the club looking to start a new era under the guidance of the QIA, Antoine Kombouare would be expecting his team to go for a win against a slightly weakened Lorient side.
Predicted final score: PSG 3-1 Lorient
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