Ligue 1 Conforama champions Paris Saint-Germain head to Amiens SC on Friday with record goalscorer Edinson Cavani determined to see coach Unai Emery leave in the best possible way.
Amiens SC – Paris Saint-Germain
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PSG will part ways with the Spaniard at the end of the current campaign after their failure to get past the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, but with a Coupe de France final and the elusive 100-point mark in the French top flight still to play for, Cavani insists the capital club remain focused.
“I congratulate the coach,” said the 27-goal Uruguay striker, whose brace in the 2-2 draw against EA Guingamp took him onto 115 PSG goals, two more than previous record holder Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “He gave everything, every single day. I wish him the best in his career.”
Home fortress
Cavani’s double – scored in the final 15 minutes at the Parc des Princes last Sunday – extended PSG’s undefeated home run to 41 games, but also left the champions needing to win each of their final three games in order to become the first club ever to have won a century of points in a single season.
Watch: Highlights of PSG’s Cavani-inspired comeback against Guingamp!
“No, we’re not on holiday already, this is not true,” Cavani bristled after a suggestion to that affect was made at the post-match press conference. “I’m under contract with PSG. I’m very good here. I’m proud to be here. I hope to continue on this path which started five years ago. I want to keep winning with this shirt.”
Missing midfielders
Cavani is extremely likely to add a 16th major title to his burgeoning trophy cabinet next Tuesday, with third-tier Les Herbiers VF PSG’s opponents in the Coupe de France final at the Stade de France, but with Marco Verratti, Adrien Rabiot and Lassana Diarra all carrying injuries, Emery will have to be creative about who to use in midfield for the run-in.
Amiens, for their part, may not be ready to lie down and let PSG take all three points at the Stade de la Licorne. Christophe Pélissier’s men held deposed champions AS Monaco to a goalless draw at the Stade Louis II last Saturday, and only PSG and Montpellier Hérault SC have conceded fewer goals this term.
Watch: Highlights of Amiens sterling 0-0 draw at Monaco!
‘We embarrassed Monaco’
“We knew we were going to suffer here but we were prepared,” explained the coach. “I asked my players to be a little more enterprising and we were. At half-time I told them to stay compact but also to believe. We tried to pick them off, we played. The players weren’t timid. We embarrassed Monaco. Stopping them scoring is a great feat.”
Amiens are all but assured of a second consecutive season in Ligue 1 Conforama. Les Licornes are nine points better off than LOSC in 19th and ESTAC Troyes in 18th, with a radically better goal-difference than both.
The Somme club’s chances of a first ever point against PSG are not helped by the absence of Bakaye Dibassy. The Mali left-back has a thigh strain, and joins Serge Gakpé (head), Stiven Mendoza (knee) and Lacina Traoré (shoulder) on the sidelines.
Probable teams:
Amiens: Gurtner; El Hajjam, Gouano, Adénon, Avelar; Ngosso, Monconduit – Zungu, Kakuta, Manzala; Konaté
PSG: Aréola; Meunier, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Pastore, Lo Celso, Draxler; Di Maria, Cavani, Nkunku
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