PSG banged up heading into Lorient clash
The jubilation of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League victory over Chelsea was quickly forgotten when Laurent Blanc's side were beaten by Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday afternoon.
Laurent Blanc's side saw a 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end in dramatic fashion last Sunday when they went down 3-2 at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, conceding a decisive late goal to Diego Rolán after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had twice drawn the defending champions level.
It was another missed opportunity for PSG to leapfrog Olympique Lyonnais into first place, and OL are currently two points clear at the summit coming into the final round of games before the clocks go forward and before Paris travel to Marseille at the start of next month.
However, with Lyon not in action until Saturday, Paris have another chance to climb provisionally above their main title rivals into pole position as they bid to extend their unbeaten record at home this season. PSG have not lost any of 21 home games in all competitions since the beginning of the campaign, although they must cope with a host of selection problems against the Bretons.
David Luiz, who came off against Bordeaux with a thigh problem, is suspended, while his fellow Brazilians Marquinhos and Lucas are carrying injuries too. Yohan Cabaye is out after he also came off last weekend with a knee injury and Serge Aurier has not played since tearing a hamstring in last month's draw at home to Caen.
"We are in a final race for the finish with two or three clubs who can believe they can win the title. The objective is to take all three points and get back to winning ways in the league at home, especially after losing at Bordeaux," said Blanc, although the former France international defender dismissed claims that there was now a greater urgency to win games.
"Personally I am not worried. There is always an urgency to take points because we are second, two points behind Lyon. My team are at home to Lorient, and with all respect towards them, we have to take all three points."
Lorient have won five times in 10 previous visits to the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 and Sylvain Ripoll's side travel to the capital with the pressure off after last week's come-from-behind 2-1 win at home to Caen eased their relegation fears. Raphaël Guerreiro's seventh goal of the season and an eighth of the campaign for Jordan Ayew handed the Bretons a welcome victory that moved them five points clear of the drop zone.
"It was one of these games that will count come the end of the season as we had lost our previous two games, including one against a direct rival in the relegation battle in Evian. But we have played well at home since the start of 2015. The win allowed us to catch Caen and move five points clear of Toulouse, so it was job done," said defender Lamine Koné, who is now looking forward to making his 100th Ligue 1 appearance against the club he supported as a boy growing up in the capital.
"When I was younger they were the team I supported. And I still do support them. But now we can go to Paris without any pressure. We are going to play this match to win it. It is always a pleasure to play at the Parc des Princes so we have to make the most of it.
"We have to try to give them something to worry about, get the ball down and play the way we know how. If we can do that, we will have a chance of beating them."
Ripoll can welcome Gabonese midfielder Didier Ndong back after suspension but Guerreiro - such a threat on the left wing - has been ruled out of the game because of a thigh injury suffered in training. Mathieu Coutadeur (adductor), Mathias Autret (hernia) and Valentin Lavigne (hip) are all out, while Raffidine Abdullah has been struggling with a hamstring problem.
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