Montpellier welcome PSG to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 in Saturday’s French Ligue 1 matchup. With the league already wrapped up by the visitors and on a high from reaching the UEFA Champions League final, Les Parisiens are expected to ease past their already relegated hosts.
Montpellier come into this game already relegated to Ligue 2 following a 1-0 defeat at Brest in their previous fixture. That result means Zoumana Camara's men are winless in their last 13 league matches, suffering 12 defeats in that run and are now doomed to finish at the bottom of the table.
A leaky backline has been one of the problems for Montpellier, with a number of one-sided defeats among their results like the 5-1 thrashing at Marseille and the 4-0 home loss to Lyon. They have also struggled going forward, failing to score in 11 of their last 13 Ligue 1 matches.
PSG arrive in high spirits after their 2-1 midweek win over Arsenal sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory and a place in the UEFA Champions League final. With the league title already wrapped up and a Coupe de France final against Reims still to come, they remain firmly on course for the treble.
The Parisians are winless in their last three Ligue 1 matches and were beaten 2-1 at Strasbourg, although manager Luis Enrique has been rotating heavily with one eye on the Champions League. However, they are likely to be feeling the euphoria of their Champions League exploits and will be targeting a repeat of the 6-1 victory at Saint-Etienne, who are also battling relegation.
How the bookies view it: Smooth ride for PSG
PSG have been backed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies, with BoyleSports offering 2/9 for a home win. An unlikely victory for Montpellier is priced at 15/2 while a draw has been set at 11/2.
Head to head: Superior PSG
PSG have a 29-14 advantage from 14 previous matches against Montpellier. The Parisians often claim one-sided wins in this fixture, like the 6-0 home victory in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Barcola to step up
Bradley Barcola has netted 14 Ligue 1 goals for PSG this season and also netted a brace in the reverse fixture. The forward is worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at evens with BoyleSports.
Given Montpellier's attacking problems, PSG will be targeting a shutout like they had in the reverse fixture. William Pacho has been a mainstay at the back for the Parisians and can help the visitors to a clean sheet at 13/10 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Nikola Maksimovic, Issiaga Sylla and Stefan Dzodic are unavailable for Montpellier due to several injuries. However, Junior Ndiaye, Rabby Nzingoula and Jordan Ferri are all expected to start.
PSG have a fully fit team to pick from, although some of their midweek starters might be given a rest. Bradley Barcola could be favoured to retain his place in the line-up alongside Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz.
Montpellier: Lacomte, Tchato, Mouanga, Omeragic, Mincarelli, Saint-Luce, Coulibaly, Nzingoula, Ferri, Fayad, Ndiaye
PSG: Safonov, Zaire-Emery, Beraldo, Pacho, Hernandez, Mayulu, Ruiz, Neves, Barcola, Ramos, Lee
Anything else catch the eye?
PSG often claim dominant victories in this fixture and having won 6-2 on their last visit to Montpellier, a -2 handicap can be considered at 7/5 with BoyleSports. The visitors have scored in both halves in the last meetings and a repeat is valued at 8/13 with BoyleSports.
The Parisians have won both halves in seven of the last eight league matches against Montpellier and a similar outcome is priced at 7/5 with BoyleSports.
This French Ligue 1 match between Montpellier and PSG will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Montpellier vs PSG prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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