PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc is hoping his side’s Champions League exertions do not work against them in tomorrow’s top of the table clash with bitter rivals Marseille.
PSG will head into the biggest grudge match in French football with the pressure on as they trail the Ligue 1 leaders by a total of four points.
And while Blanc’s men were busy securing their place in the Champions League knockout stage with two games to spare in Group F by defeating APOEL of Cyprus 1-0 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday thanks to Edinson Cavani’s early strike, Marseille have no European distractions this season.
When asked if his team had set themselves up perfectly for Sunday’s encounter by maintaining their unbeaten record this season and making it five wins on the bounce in all competitions, Blanc suggested that the APOEL performance could work against them.
“Is playing a Champions League match on a Wednesday ideal preparation for a ‘Clasico’ on a Sunday? I don’t know,” said the former Marseille defender.
“Winning is always better than losing or drawing, it helps you recover better.
“Marseille will come here with an ambitious mindset after the start they have had to the season, but we will approach the match in the same way.”
Despite being undefeated three months into the campaign, too many draws allowed Marseille to pull away at the top, with PSG saving their best performance so far for their Champions League win against Barcelona at the end of September.
“We have dropped points in games this season but the fact we are playing in the Champions League has prevented us from picking up as many as we maybe deserve,” added Blanc while pointing out advantage for opponents.
“It’s certainly an advantage for Marseille, and the more games you play the more you expose yourself to the risk of picking up injuries.”
PSG have been without their biggest asset, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for the last seven weeks as the Swede battles to recover from a heel injury.AFP
