Paris-Clermont: A final victory to aim for

TABLE UPDATE

With a total of 27 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats after 37 rounds of league action, Paris Saint-Germain are guaranteed top spot in Ligue 1 at the end of this final round of matches. The Parisian club has 85 points, and is four points clear of runners-up Lens, as well as twelve points clear of Olympique de Marseille, who occupy the final place of the podium.

For their part, Clermont Foot 63 have had a more than satisfactory year. In their second consecutive season in the top flight, the Clermontois are in 8th place. Their position in the top half of the table speaks volumes for the excellent progress made by the Auvergne club, who have established themselves as one of the league's surprise packages. With 16 wins, 8 draws and 13 defeats to their name, Pascal Gastien's side have a total of 56 points. With a 23-point lead over FC Nantes, 17th in the table and the first team in the relegation zone, CF63's initial objective of staying up has been a foregone conclusion for some time. The Parisians will have to contend with a team who play with no fear and a squad that is brimming with confidence thanks to a run of 7 wins in its last 9 league games (1 draw and 1 defeat).

A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST GAME

The two sides met on Matchday 1 at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied on 6 August. The match was a real show of strength for Paris, with the Rouge et Bleus winning 5-0. Right from the start, Paris took the initiative with Neymar Jr 's right-footed opener (0-1, 9'). Just before the half-hour mark, the Brazilian striker and Léo Messi set up Achraf Hakimi, who fired a powerful shot into the top corner (0-2, 26'). To round off a one-sided first half, Neymar Jr took advantage of a set-piece to set up Marquinhos, who had been left alone at the far post, to head home past a helpless Mory Diaw (0-3, 38').

In the second half, the Red and Blues tried to extend their lead but the Clermont keeper denied Nuno Mendes. They had to wait until the final ten minutes to extend their lead a little further, when Messi and Neymar Jr demonstrated their partnership with a one-two which the Argentinian striker finished off (0-4, 80'). Moments later, La Pulga made it two, and and not with just any goal: with his back to goal, the Parisian No30 controlled the ball with his chest before finishing with an acrobatic overhead kick that left the opposing goalkeeper rooted to the spot (0-5, 86'). Paris Saint-Germain got their season off to the perfect start and left Auvergne with three points to their name.

the opponents

Pascal Gastien and his team usually play in a 5-2-3 system. But within this system, the French coach can vary the men he uses out wide. Although he generally opts for full-backs, players with a more attacking profile are sometimes lined up in this role by the Auvergne coach. In goal, Mory Diaw has established himself as one of Clermont's key players. Like his team, the Senegalese keeper ranks 8th in the league this season in terms of number of saves (106) and save percentage (75.5%). In central defence, four players share the three starting places. Most recently, Poland's Mateusz Wieteska has been taking advantage of his form to slot in ahead of Florent Ogier in the centre of the three-man defence. Meanwhile, Alidu Seidu and Maximiliano Caufriez are putting in a steady series of performances on the left and right of the Clermont rearguard. On the left flank, the indispensable Neto Borges (3 goals, 3 assists) has established himself as the first choice, while Jim Allevinah (right midfield) and former Rennes player Mehdi Zeffane (right wing-back) share the opposite flank.

In midfield, there is more often than not the tandem of Yohann Magnin and Johan Gastien. The experienced Maxime Gonalons, former captain of Olympique Lyonnais, could also join them from the start on Saturday. A midfielder with a defensive profile who is particularly effective at recovering the ball, allowing the wing-backs to take positions higher up the pitch. In attack, Grejohn Kyei (9 goals, 4 assists) has gradually gained the upper hand over Komnen Andric (4 goals, 3 assists) at the front of the attack, to the point where he now appears to be irreplaceable. Alongside him, Elbasan Rashani (3 goals, 2 assists) and former Marseille forward Saîf-Eddine Khaoui (7 goals, 4 assists) seem to be the Auvergne coaching staff's most reliable players. Nonetheless, 18-year-old Aïman Maurer has recently broken into the side, while Austrian Muhammed Cham (7 goals, 4 assists), who was used heavily in the first half of the season, is still in contention for a starting berth.

spotlight on a parisian: LéO messi

Léo Messi, who scored his 16th goal for Paris in the 1-1 draw with Strasbourg last weekend, will be one of the players to watch on Saturday evening. With his latest goal, the Argentinian striker became the sole top scorer in the history of the top 5 European leagues, with 496 goals.

But Paris Saint-Germain's No30 does more than just score, he is also essential in the construction of the game. As effective as ever on the ball, the Rosario native handed out no fewer than 3 key passes during the last match, the highest total for the Parisian side. With 86 balls touched, Léo Messi was also the attacking player who took the most part in the game during the match.

two CLUBS, one player : SYLVAIN ARMAND

Born in Saint-Etienne in 1980, Sylvain Armand began his footballing career with Les Verts in 1996, playing in the Coupe Gambardella final in 1998. But it was at Clermont Foot 63 that he began his professional career as a left-back at the age of 19. In the National, the man from St Etienne immediately established himself as a major player in a team that finished a solid 7th. It was a promising season that led to a big move to FC Nantes in the summer of 2000. With the Loire club, Sylvain Armand made 161 appearances in the space of four seasons. A first-team regular with the Canaries, he went on to play in the Champions League and win the French league title.

It was at the beginning of the 2004-2005 season that the former Clermont player joined Paris Saint-Germain. Over the years, the French full-back established himself as one of the most important figures in the history of the Red and Blue club. He played a key role in Paris Saint-Germain's Coupe de France triumph over Olympique de Marseille in the 2006 final. A title he would win again four years later with Paris, this time against AS Monaco. In the meantime, the solid French full-back also won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2008, before leaving the club in 2013 with one final title to his name: champion of France. During his nine seasons in Paris, he made 380 appearances and scored 12 goals.

That figure still leaves him in the top 5 of the list of the capital club's most capped players, in 4th place just behind Jean-Marc Pilorget (435), Marco Verratti (415) and Marquinhos (406). After leaving the capital, the left-back discovered another French club: Stade Rennais FC. An all-round performer, the left-footer stood out for his consistency and his many defensive interventions.