French Super Cup Preview: PSG vs. Lyon
Fresh from lifting the North American edition of the International Champions Cup, Ligue 1 Champions Paris Saint-Germain are set to take on Olympique Lyonnais in Montreal Saturday for the French Super Cup. The cup, known in France as the Trophee des Champions, is typically contested between the winner of Ligue 1 and the winner of the Coupe de France. However since PSG swept to a domestic treble last season, this year’s edition pits them against last season’s Ligue 1 runners up, Lyon.
Although it’s still preseason, PSG look to be in tremendous form already, having defeated Benfica, Fiorentina and Manchester United in preseason friendlies on their way to lifting the ICC.
Lyon have found things rather tougher going in their preseason, and come into the match on the back of a 2-0 loss to Villarreal and a crushing 6-0 loss to Arsenal in the Emirates Cup. The Ligue 1 runner ups will also have to make do without Nabil Fekir who is serving a yellow card suspension, and attacking midfielder, Clement Grenier, who ruptured a tendon in his left leg, and is due to miss the first four months of the season.
But one player that will likely be lining up for Lyon on Saturday is Alexander Lacazette. Lacazette was the leading scorer in Ligue 1 last season and despite being on the radar of a number of Premier League clubs, most notably, Arsenal, the 24-year-old remains on the books at Lyon, at least for the moment.
Meanwhile, in the opposite dugout, PSG manager Laurent Blanc will have the benefit of a full squad to choose from. Despite persistent rumors of a return to his former team, AC Milan, and cryptic talk of a “surprise” move to an undisclosed club, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still set to turn out for PSG. The Swede has been in fine preseason form, scoring the second goal against United and earning Man Of the Match honors.
The Parisians are also thought to be very close to completing the signing of Angel Di Maria from Manchester United. Following the Premier League outfit’s defeat at the hands of PSG, United manager Louis van Gaal admitted he didn’t know where Di Maria was at the moment.
With or without Di Maria, PSG have won four out of five of their preseason matches and four of their last seven clashes with Lyon, making them clear favorites to lift the Trophee des Champions on Saturday for the third consecutive season.