Faster starts needed, but PSG still team to beat in France
Published:Punters getting stuck into PSG’s pre-season price of 4/9 to win Ligue 1 may be having a few nervy sweats with two draws marking Laurent Blanc’s debut in the dugout, but based on the way the last campaign developed, there is no need to panic yet even though they have drifted to 4/6 for title glory.
PSG opened the last campaign with three straight draws, but still ended up as French champions by a 12-point margin.
Ironically, the second of these draws came against Corsican club Ajaccio, which is a feat that has been repeated in the current season after Edinson Cavani’s first goal since joining for mega-money from Napoli earned them a late point.
What is worth noting is that PSG are not playing particularly badly at present, they had 39 shots at goal against Ajaccio and over 75 per cent of the possession.
Given that Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi are all on their books, the success rate of their finishing can only improve.
The two other elements that need addressing are ensuring that their heads are on the game from the first minute and a potential new signing at right-back.
In both league games so far, PSG have found themselves behind in the opening 10 minutes and this enables the opposition to pack out the midfield, preventing space from being available between the lines.
Considering they only allowed the opposition to open the scoring in eight league fixtures last season, winning only one of these games, this must be improved.
Secondly, right-back Christophe Jallet has looked a bit of a liability, but his starting spot appears relatively secure in the short term with Gregory Van der Wiel seemingly on the verge of leaving the club.
Therefore, a new full-back could be a necessity despite murmurings that PSG are finished in the transfer market for this window. Newcastle’s Mathieu Debuchy and Dani Alves are two names to have recently been linked.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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