Preview: Paris Saint-Germain v. Montpellier

A LOOK AT THE TABLE

With their 3-2 victory away to Stade Brestois 29 last Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain registered a third straight win in the league, following the ones against Rennes (3-1) and against Strasbourg (3-0). Les Rouge et Bleu now have 21 points after their opening ten league fixtures and remain just one point behind leaders OGC Nice.

As for Montpellier, the Hérault-based outfit have had a mixed start to the season, as they currently sit in 11th place with 11 points from nine games. Recently, though, MHSC have looked as though they have found some form, suffering just one defeat in their last five games as well as recording a convincing 3-0 win at home to Toulouse FC last weekend.

THE LAST ENCOUNTER REVISITED

These two teams last faced each other on Matchday 21 of the 2022–2023 Ligue 1 season, back on 1st February at the Stade de la Mosson. After a lively start to the game, Benjamin Lecomte managed to stop Kylian Mbappé's penalty and keep his side on level terms. Then, just after the half-hour mark, Lionel Messi thought that he'd opened the scoring for the capital club, but the referee ruled the goal out, as Argentina's World Cup winner had strayed offside before Vitinha laid the ball off to him. It wasn't until the second half that the match would open up again, with Fabián Ruiz breaking the deadlock ten minutes after the restart.

Achraf Hakimi would later pierce through the MHSC defence and fire a close-range shot straight at Lecomte, but Spain international Ruiz followed in and rounded the move off with a left-footed finish (0-1, 55'). Less than 20 minutes later, Ruiz turned provider for Messi, as the Argentine beat Lecomte with a left-footed shot across goal (0-2, 78'). Then, in the dying moments of the encounter, Arnaud Nordin reduced the deficit for Montpellier (1-2, 89') before Warren Zaïre-Emery scored Paris's third with a right-footed strike across goal from inside the box (1-3, 90'+2), sealing the win for Les Parisiens.

MONTPELLIER'S STRENGTHS

Michel Der Zakarian's side mainly play in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with experienced goalie Lecomte acting as one of the key players in the Montpellier starting XI. With a save percentage of 75.6% so far this season, the former Monaco keeper ranks sixth among French top-flight custodians in this respect. In front of him, three players can stake their claim for a starting place at centre-back: Boubakar Kouyaté, Bećir Omeragić and Maxime Estève. The first of the three is quite simply indispensable, as he's the only MHSC outfield player to have played every single minute of his side's season so far.

Alongside him, Omeragić is doubtful for Friday's game due to a foot injury. The Swiss international's presence isn't to be ruled out just yet, but if he were to miss out, Estève would be the most plausible option to start the match; incidentally, the France U21 international was in the starting line-up against Toulouse last weekend and is above Christophe Jullien in the pecking order. On the right side of defence, Falaye Sacko is a key cog in the Montpellier wheel. In fact, the Mali international has made more interceptions (16) than any of his teammates so far this season.

On the opposite side, Issiaga Sylla has recovered from his calf injury and is expected to start at the Parc des Princes. In the engine room, we find the vital midfield duo of Joris Chotard and Jordan Ferri, the latter of whom has enjoyed an average of nearly 69 touches per game – the second-highest total among the MHSC squad. As for Chotard, the France U21 international has made the most successful tackles (25) of any player during the current top-flight campaign.

Slightly higher up the pitch is where we find Montpellier's captain and chief playmaker, Téji Savanier. The French attacking midfielder and MHSC icon has been involved in 50 moves leading to a goal so far this season – the second-highest total in this respect across the whole of France. Over on the right flank, summer signing Musa Al-Taamari has already become an established starter, with the Jordan international proving to be one of this season's surprise packages for his side since joining them on a free transfer from Belgian side OH Leuven. On top of his three goals and one assist in the league, the right winger has also completed 22 dribbles so far, which is eight more than any other player for La Paillade.

On the left wing, Wahbi Khazri no longer needs any introduction, yet the Tunisia international, who has racked up 74 goals and 38 assists in 273 Ligue 1 games, is seeing his place in the starting XI threatened by up-and-coming youngster Khalil Fayad, who netted his first professional goal at home to TFC on Sunday.

There are no prizes for guessing who currently leads the MHSC front line, however. Having arrived in the summer from Norwegian outfit Lillestrøm SK, Akor Adams has established himself as his side's main attacking threat, and with seven goals in his nine Ligue 1 games so far, the Nigerian striker has adapted to life in the south of France incredibly quickly. On Friday night, he'll undeniably be a player for the Paris defence to watch out for.

kylian mbappé v. akor adams: THE game's big head-to-head

Friday's meeting between Paris and Montpellier is the chance to highlight a particularly juicy match-up: the one between Kylian Mbappé, the league's current top scorer, and Akor Adams, who sits one place below him in the goalscoring charts. Having bagged himself a brace away to Brest last weekend, the Paris striker has now taken his goal tally up to ten for the league season, which is a ratio of exactly a goal per game, but the France international isn't settling for just finishing moves off, as he's also been involved in a total of 45 moves leading to a goal since the start of the campaign.

Adams, meanwhile, is also enjoying an excellent start to the season, and although he's been omnipresent at the tip of the attack, the forward has also proven to be invaluable in helping his side to win the ball back, as demonstrated by his 15 ball recoveries. Standing at 1m90 tall, the MHSC attacker has used his height to weigh heavily on opposition defences, as shown by the 20 aerial duels that he's won so far in 2023–2024 – the fourth-highest total in this respect for a top-flight striker. If that doesn't make for a captivating long-distance duel between the two goalscorers on Friday, nothing will...