PSG vs Metz

Amends are to be made as 11-time Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain entertain bottom-half Metz at the Parc des Princes.

Paris Saint-Germain’s resounding eight-match winning streak in Ligue 1 ended abruptly at the weekend courtesy of conceding a 95th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Lille. Despite that setback, Luis Enrique’s men commence this round comfortably atop the Ligue 1 table, five points clear of closest followers Nice, largely thanks to an impressive string of home results. Following a topsy-turvy home league start (W1, D1, L1), ‘Les Parisiens’ have won their last five top-flight outings at the Parc des Princes by a combined score of 17-3, notably netting 2+ goals on each occasion. Another success looks like a virtual certainty, considering they’ve emerged victorious across their last nine Ligue 1 clashes against promoted Metz at home, with two of the most recent three yielding a thumping 5-0 scoreline.

In the meantime, not even the most die-hard Metz fans can dare to dream big ahead of this trip after the visitors lost their last three league matches without finding the net. Damage limitation will likely be at the forefront of manager Laszlo Boloni’s mind, knowing his lads lament the division’s fourth-worst defensive record. Not only have Metz capitulated 24 times across the opening 15 Ligue 1 matchdays, but 62.5% of those goals came on hostile turf. Topically, since back-to-back 1-0 wins at Lens and Clermont in late August/early September, ‘Les Grenats’ have failed to keep a clean sheet on five successive league trips, conceding 2+ goals on four occasions. Particularly vulnerable in the early stages, they’ve allowed a league second joint-high eight first-half goals on the road this term.