Paris Saint-Germain resume domestic matters on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men will have to pick themselves up from a bitter Champions League defeat in midweek, letting a lead slip in a deserved 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. That result sealed their fate as Group A runners-up.

Domestically, the side from the capital have managed to grind out results despite not playing the electric football expected of them, so far winning 12 of their 14 outings and not losing in their previous five Ligue 1 matches.

The story is vastly different for Sunday’s hosts. Saint-Etienne have struggled so far this season, currently occupying 19th spot in the table. They have, however started to pick up form under Claude Puel, picking up their only two victories of the league campaign in their last two fixtures – a 3-2 win over Clermont Foot before beating Troyes 1-0 last time out.

Here’s 90min’s preview of this clash.

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When is kick off? Sunday 28 November, 12:00 (GMT)
Where is it being played? Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne
What TV channel is it on? BT Sport 1 (UK), fuboTV (UK)
Highlights? BT Sport YouTube channel
Who’s the referee? Jerome Brisard
Who’s the VAR? Amaury Delerue

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Puel will have to contend without Mama Balde, Karim Azamoum, Philippe Sandler and Yasser Larouci who all miss out through injury.

Otherwise, however, the Saint Etienne boss has a fully fit squad to select and will likely field a very similar lineup to the one that picked up just the club’s second win and first clean sheet of the campaign last time out against Troyes.

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Keylor Navas was sent off in PSG’s 3-1 victory over Nantes last time out in Ligue 1, leaving no room for debate over who will start between the sticks – Gianluigi Donnarumma will make his first appearance in four outings.

Meanwhile, midfielders Georginio Wijnaldum and Marco Verratti were both ruled out of PSG’s match at the Etihad in midweek, while Ander Herrera was withdrawn with what looked like a hamstring strain during the action. All are doubts to feature against Saint-Etienne.

Sergio Ramos was included in a matchday squad for the first time on Wednesday night, although he may have to wait a little longer to push his way past the pairing of Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe who both performed admirably against Manchester City.

Elsewhere, Pochettino has no fresh concerns. Julian Draxler remains a certainty to miss the trip to Saint-Etienne as he continues his recovery from a muscle injury.

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Saint Etienne: Green; Trauco, Kolodziejczak, Nade, Macon; Khazri, Youssouf, Boudebouz, Nordin, Krasso, Hamouma.

PSG: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Mendes; Gueye, Paredes; Di Maria, Messi, Neymar; Mbappe.

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Considering the size and success of Saint-Etienne in French football, you may be surprised to find out that the head to head record between these two clubs is heavily weighted in PSG’s favour – although, the Parisian’s appearance on the top flight scene came just after Les Verts‘ period of success goes some way to explaining it. Of their 77 meetings, Sunday’s hosts have won just ten while PSG boast 46 victories (21 draws).

Unsurprisingly, recent years have been dominated by the Parisian outfit. They haven’t been beaten by Saint-Etienne in nine years, winning 18 of the 23 encounters in that time.

Recent meetings include a 6-1 thrashing of Les Verts in the 2019/20 Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals, a 1-0 win in the 2019/20 Cupe de France final and, most recently, last campaign’s exceptionally thrilling 3-2 victory in PSG’s favour – as seen above.

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With the record above in mind, it’s hard to see anything but a PSG win here. That being said, the two sides come into this one in different mindsets and it’s football – anything can happen.

With two victories behind them and the recent boost of their first clean sheet, Saint-Etienne will inevitably prove plucky underdogs. With the quality of the likes of Wabi Khazri and Ryad Boudebouz within the squad, there are plenty of avenues for creativity.

They are coming up against a PSG side in imperious domestic form, however. While the defeat in Manchester will be tough to take, the mesmerising quality of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar – I could go on, but I won’t – should be enough to pick up yet another three points.

Given Pochettino’s side’s defensive struggles, it’s fair to say we can expect goals, but most of them will surely end up in Saint-Etienne’s net.

Prediction: Saint-Etienne 1-3 PSG

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