Prediction: Saint-Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain to win 2-1

Best Odds: 13/2

Bookmaker: Betfair

Saint-Etienne and Paris Saint-Germain will face each other in Ligue 1 this week. The match at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is slated to kick off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday.

Saint-Etienne

Saint-Etienne will head into the match against PSG on the back of a 2-2 draw with AS Monaco away from home in Ligue 1. It followed another 2-2 draw, this time with Nimes at home. Claude Puel’s side are in good form at the moment and are unbeaten since late November.

The Saints finished 17th in the Ligue 1 table last season and narrowly avoided the dreaded drop to League 2. Puel’s team are now 14th in the league table at the moment with 18 points from 17 games, as many as six points above the bottom three.

Team news:

Mahdi Camara and Yvan Neyou are suspended for Saint-Etienne, which means that Zaydou Youssouf will get a chance. Panagiotis Retsos, Yvann Macon, Gabriel Silva and Wahbi Khazri are all injured.

Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain have a new manager in Mauricio Pochettino, who will be looking to make an immediate impact and win his first game in charge. The former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur manager has arrived in Paris with a strong reputation, and one suspects that fans of the club will welcome their former player with open arms.

PSG are third in the Ligue 1 table at the moment with 35 points from 17 matches, a point behind Lyon and Lille, who are first and second respectively in the standings. The defending French champions hammered Strasbourg 4-0 at home in the final match under Thomas Tuchel.

Team news:

Layvin Kurzawa, Alessandro Florenzi and Presnel Kimpembe are out injured, while Danilo Pereira, Mauro Icardi, Abdou Diallo and Pablo Sarabia are doubtful. Neymar is unlikely to return from his ankle injury.

Key Factors to Consider

• Saint-Etienne have scored 18 goals in 17 Ligue 1 matches.
• PSG have scored 39 goals in 17 Ligue 1 matches.
• Saint-Etienne have conceded 25 goals in 17 Ligue 1 games.
• PSG have conceded 10 goals in 17 Ligue 1 games.
• Kylian Mbappe is the Ligue 1 top scorer with 12 goals.

Conclusion

PSG have not been at their imperious best, but Pochettino does have enough quality players available in his first match in charge to pick up all three points against Saint-Etienne.

Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain to win 2-1

Best Odds: 13/2

Bookmaker: Betfair