Paris Saint-Germain Looks to Clinch a Record-extending 13th French League Title
The one-sided Ligue 1 title race could end on Saturday, with Paris Saint-Germain needing only a draw at home against Angers to clinch a record-extending 13th crown.
PSG’s massive 21-point lead means it would have to lose the next seven games and Monaco win them all to overtake the Parisians, who are unbeaten in 27 league games, the Associated Press said.
PSG could finish the league campaign unbeaten, although coach Luis Enrique’s side still has to play Nice and has a tricky match away to Strasbourg, with both opponents locked in a tight battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
This season’s Champions League, too, is in Luis Enrique’s thoughts.
Good time to rest players? With a quarterfinal first-leg match against Aston Villa coming up in Paris on Wednesday, PSG can afford to rest several key players against Angers. Coach Alexandre Dujeux’s side is 14th and has lost four straight league games without scoring a goal, conceding 11.
However, Enrique is not fond of squad rotation so may field close to a full-strength team at Parc des Princes.
How can PSG lose a game? It is hard to see how, given that PSG has not dropped any points since a 1-1 draw at home to Reims on Jan. 25, winning eight straight games.
A glimmer of hope for PSG’s remaining opponents is that the team starts slowly and is prone to conceding early goals.
PSG fell behind early against Saint-Etienne last weekend, and it trailed 2-0 within 27 minutes to second-tier Dunkerque in the French Cup semifinal on Tuesday. PSG ended up winning both matches and scoring 10 goals in the process, but there is still a significant weakness against set-pieces and crosses.
