Tuchel: 'Stay focused'
Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's Ligue 1 clash away to Nice, at 17:15 CET at Allianz Riviera:
SQUAD
"Lassana Diarra and Colin Dagba are injured, the latter with a hamstring strain. Julian Draxler, Adrien Rabiot and Thomas Meunier are uncertain and we will see how they pull up after training. Kylian Mbappé? It has been tough while he has been suspended. We are very happy to have him back and he is happy to be back too! He will plazy tomorrow!"
NICE
"Nice are a team that like to play football, like to have the majority of the possession and are very confident on the ball. They can play with four or five at the back. Our challenge is to find solutions and be ready for Saturday. It's important that we talk on Friday and that we focus on training to be ready. Nice have a lot of quality players, such as Danté and Saint-Maximin. It will be a tough game. Will we focus on stopping Balotelli? No, but he is a quality player. He is enormously talented and he is always dangerous because you never know what he is going to do. We have to keep an eye on him, but also Saint-Maximin, who is also very dangerous."
SEVEN WINS IN A ROW
"Against Reims, we had the chance to set a new club record. I don't like to talk about these sorts of things with the players, but I know that the players like these sorts of challenges and can equal Lille's record of eight straight wins (1936-1937). We don't need to talk about it... I know they know all about it."
LIGUE 1
"Ligue 1 is a very physical championship. Each team here has very quick attackers on the wings, very fit. It's very difficult but important to try and control opposition counterattacks. Ligue 1 is very competitive, a very high standard. There are teams like Monaco, Marseille and Lyon, but also Lille, Nice and Toulouse are very good sides."
ERIC MAXIM CHOUPO-MOTING
"We speak a lot with all the players, including Eric Maxim. His role is very clear. He is an excellent squad player. That's very important for us. He works very hard during the week, as well in the matches where he defends a lot. He can play as a No.9 or behind the striker. He's very important for us. He is patient and confident. We are very satisfied with him."