Ibrahimovic fresh for Saint-Etienne clash
Reuters - Thursday 01 November 2012, 02:00
Saint-Etienne might have thought playing in the League Cup a day earlier would be an advantage before travelling to Paris Saint-Germain but, bad news for Les Verts, Zlatan Ibrahimovic enjoyed a full week's rest ahead of Saturday's league clash.
The prolific Sweden striker was rested for Wednesday's 2-0 French League Cup last 16 win against arch rivals Olympique Marseille and he is expected to be fresh against Saint-Etienne as PSG aim to open a six-point gap at the top of the standings.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have 22 points from 10 matches and lead second-placed Toulouse, who travel to Girondins Bordeaux on Sunday, by three points.
The other bad news for Saint-Etienne is that Javier Pastore, who had been in terrible form in recent weeks, showed great signs of improvement against OM with several classy touches.
Should the Argentine playmaker be near his best, Ibrahimovic can be expected to profit from his supply line and add to his tally of 10 goals.
The PSG defence is also looking more impressive by the day with Thiago Silva being almost unbeatable in the box.
They may give another run-out to striker Peguy Luyindula, who played a few minutes against Marseille after being left out of the squad for over six months because of a contract disagreement.
Saint-Etienne are expected to be without defender Jean-Pascal Mignot, who picked up a groin injury in his team's 3-0 league cup win at Sochaux on Tuesday.
Marseille, who have now lost their last three games in all competitions, travel to promoted AC Ajaccio on Sunday.
They will once again sorely miss the injured Andre-Pierre Gignac, who is not expected back before the end of next month.
Olympique Lyon, who like Marseille have a game in hand after their game last weekend was called off because of strong winds, will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat at Nice in the League Cup on Wednesday when they host Bastia on Sunday.
Champions Montpellier, on the other hand, will be looking to confirm they are back on track after two wins in a row before their trip to second from bottom Troyes on Saturday.