Toulouse v Paris Saint-Germain: Pastore out to win it all again

Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Javier Pastore has warned that the reigning Ligue 1 champions want to sweep the board again this season ahead of Saturday’s trip to Toulouse.

Laurent Blanc’s men progressed to the semi-final of the Coupe de la Ligue on Wednesday by beating Lyon 2-1 courtesy of Lucas Moura’s winner.

PSG – who won a unique domestic quadruple last season – will now meet Toulouse in the next round, who they also face in the Coupe de France round of 32 later this month.

The sides first lock horns at the Stadium Municipal in Ligue 1 on Saturday, though, and Pastore has called for focus ahead of this weekend’s encounter.

“Toulouse know us well, but the next three games are in three different competitions and three different matches,” Pastore told PSG’s official website.

“We want to win every match that we play and we want to go all the way in every competition.”

PSG hold a mammoth 20-point lead at the top of Ligue 1, having won 17 and drawn three of their 20 top-flight matches so far this term. Their last domestic defeat came at Bordeaux in March last year.

Toulouse, meanwhile, sit 18th in the table, but are unbeaten in their last six in all competitions and head into Saturday’s match on the back of a morale-boosting extra-time win over Marseille in the Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals. 

However, Dominique Arribage’s side were hammered 5-0 when they travelled to the Parc des Princes earlier this season, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic finding the net twice back in the reverse fixture.

Toulouse have lost 11 of their last 12 Ligue 1 games against PSG, while they have won none of their last five league games at home versus the champions.

Arribage’s men will take some confidence from the fact that they have not lost their last six games in all competitions, but they have still won only one of their last eight home games in Ligue 1.

Key Opta stats:

– PSG have scored three or more goals in six of their last nine Ligue 1 games against Toulouse.
– Toulouse have scored in their last 20 home games in Ligue 1, the best current run in the division.
– PSG are unbeaten in their last 15 away games in the top flight (winning 13 and drawing two).
– Wissam Ben Yedder has scored Toulouse’s last four goals against PSG in Ligue 1.
– Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored three of PSG’s last five away goals against Toulouse in Ligue 1.