Paris Saint-Germain vs Metz Preview

Laurent Blanc is remaining cool under pressure after Paris St Germain were once again overtaken by Lyon in the race for the Ligue 1 title.

Back in the autumn, the capital club took their time to dislodge early leaders Marseille, and they soon found themselves usurped by Lyon, who are targeting a first championship in seven years.

Les Gones bumped PSG off the top with a 4-2 victory at Reims on Sunday but the reigning champions can pull three points clear again should they beat struggling Metz at Parc des Princes on Tuesday night.

Blanc is determined to win the last five games of the season and will not let Lyon’s free-scoring antics distract his players.

He told a pre-match press conference, shown on the club’s official website: “Lyon are heading down their own path and we’re staying on ours.

“There is no pressure created when a team does well while the other one is still waiting to play.

“They’re looking for their title, we’re looking for ours, and we’ll see what the points say at the end of the season.

“We will not focus on Lyon but instead on the opponents we have to face. We will play our games, rather than spend our time ‘sending messages’ – that is merely an interpretation made by journalists.”

Despite Metz’s lowly status down in 19th, Les Grenats are unbeaten in four games and ran PSG close in the reverse fixture, succumbing to a dramatic 3-2 victory back in November.

Blanc is therefore demanding a ‘win-or-die’ attitude from his side.

“The more time that passes the fewer matches there are,” he added. “We all realise that points are becoming more and more expensive.

“When a team comes to visit us, we have to beat them.

“That is our motivation, we all have that determination. I see no reason to think that we will not win.

“We only have one goal over these next few weeks, and that’s winning the title.”

Centre-back Thiago Silva could return to action following a thigh injury but right-back Serge Aurier misses out due to a similar complaint.

Goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu is nursing a foot problem but “seems okay” to Blanc.

Metz, eight points from safety, held Europa League-chasing Bordeaux to a 1-1 draw last time out.

Former Chelsea forward Florent Malouda told L’Equipe: “It’s a valuable point but we’re still disappointed, especially because we now have to face Paris and Marseille back-to-back.”