Paris-Angers: Build-up
We get the juices flowing ahead of Saturday's encounter with Angers with some of the key stats of this third Ligue 1 game of the season.
THE MATCH
Angers has a special place in Paris history. It was against them that the Rouge-et-Bleu played their first top-flight game on 11 August 1971, losing 2-0. Three years later, on 13 August 1974, Angers were the first visitors beaten at the Parc des Princes in a league game (3-2). It was the first of 491 wins (in 821 matches) at the club's home.
Head-to-head, Paris and Angers are going to meet for the 23rd time in a competitive fixture. Paris has the advantage with 12 wins and just three defeats. The capital club are unbeaten in their last 19 competitive meetings with Angers, last losing on 12 January 1975. Only Nantes, who have failed to beat Paris in 20 attempts, have a worse record currently.
THE PLAYERS
François M’Pelé (Parisian from 1973 to '79) is the only Paris player to have scored a hat-trick against Angers, and no player from the capital club can match his tally of six goals against them. He could, however, be joined on Saturday: Angel Di Maria, Kylian Mbappé (both 4 goals) and Edinson Cavani (3 goals) are close behind.
THE LITTLE EXTRA
Mbappé likes playing Angers: the Paris forward scored twice in the 5-0 win at the Stade Raymond Kopa in November last season and also found the net twice in the return, a 2-1 triumph in March. Only nine players have achieved the feat in a single season: Jean-Claude Bras, Mustapha Dahleb, Carlos Bianchi, Dominique Rocheteau, Luis Fernandez, Oumar Sene, David Ginola, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cavani. If Mbappé scores another brace against Angers, he would equal the 40-year-old club record held by Carlos Bianchi: he scored three successive doubles against Bastia from 1977 to 1979.