Five players at the CAN (Kebbal, Chergui, Traoré, Simon, Krasso), two injured (Lees-Melou, who underwent surgery on a tibia, Dicko), two returning (Hamel, Alakouch)… It is with eight players absent, including six starters, that Paris FC will challenge PSG this Sunday (8:45 p.m.) at the Parc des Princes.
The task already promised to be immense with a full squad for the current 14th in Ligue 1, it will be even more complex with such a reduced team. The group should thus be completed with young people from the reserve (Regional 1) on the bench. If several files are open (Cherif, Munetsi, etc.), there should be no recruits between now and the match.
“We don’t play in the same league but…”
“The team will be different but not diminished,” says Stéphane Gilli. It’s not a headache, but you have to think to find the best formula to face this PSG team. We have worked on things and we will try to field the most competitive team possible. We know that PSG is the best team in Europe and certainly in the world with a coach who has built a big team over the past two and a half years. But when you have the ambition to be in Ligue 1, it’s also to play matches like that. Today, we are not playing in the same league but we are going to do our best to give a good image to Paris FC. We are not going to go there as an expiatory victim. This derby is good for Paris and French football. But I don’t want my players to be inhibited by the pressure of facing PSG, they must have fun and play our luck to the fullest. »
But the coach, whose team was in difficulty before the break (1 victory in the last 9 matches), expects to suffer: “They wear out, they wear out… They have counter-pressing which is very important. But if we manage to get out of this counter-pressing, it could be interesting. You will have to be concentrated and rigorous for 95 minutes, because the slightest careless or technical error can be costly. At the start of the season, we perhaps overperformed, and for the last few games, we have underperformed. You have to be able to restore the balance. Last year, we weren’t very good at this time of year either, but we pulled ourselves together to move up. »
“We must above all not think that we are beaten in advance”
For Kevin Trapp and Jonathan Ikoné, former PSG players, the reunion will inevitably be special. “I am happy to find Marquinhos or members of the staff,” underlines the first. I experienced a lot in this stadium and this club, where I spent three or four wonderful years. Obviously, it’s nice but it’s still a football match, so we stay focused on our work. For me, there is no better way to start the year than facing the best team in Europe. You have to be 100%, very efficient. It’s going to require a lot of things from us and we can learn a lot. We will have to defend a lot and suffer together and above all not think that we are beaten in advance. There must be more excitement than fear. Today, the differences between PSG and PFC are enormous. We are promoted, we just want to maintain ourselves, and I don’t think there is any rivalry. But in the long term, the ambitions could perhaps be the same. »
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