Paris Saint-Germain are looking to get back to winning ways in Montpellier on Wednesday after just one win from their last four Ligue 1 outings. Stade de Reims scored a late equalizer on Sunday evening to deny Christophe Galtier's men all three points and the French champions are just four points clear at the Championnat summit. Montpellier HSC are not in the best form themselves with three losses from their last four games in the topflight but just two wins from their last 12 tells its own story for the strugglers who are dropping closer to the four-team drop zone. Neymar is expected to miss this one due to muscle fatigue so it could be up to Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to get PSG firing once again.
"We must do better," said Galtier ahead of the game. "Strangely enough, against Reims, with eleven men on the pitch in the first half, we suffered a lot, and when we found ourselves with ten men, we had chances, we led while continuing to attack. That shows a certain state of mind. The end of the game remains disappointing, we have to find some consistency in our matches, at the moment we are playing with too much fluctuation in quality, there are tough moments in a season, we have to turn things around.
"It's not enough in terms of points and play," Galtier elaborated. "We must quickly find a higher level of play than what we are offering. We have to rediscover our discipline, high standards, individual and collective efforts. We saw this very often during the first few months. We talked about it a lot during the pre-season and at the start of the season. We are finding it difficult to find that in January, we spoke about it this morning with the players and we are working in this direction. There must be an awareness of the players on what they give on the pitch."
"Matches at La Mosson are always difficult," added Galtier. "There will be a lot of excitement on Wednesday. They responded against Auxerre, there is no easy match. The main thing to do in this match is to concentrate on our game and the intensity we will put into the game. We let points slip against Reims, we have to get them back in Montpellier."
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, Feb. 1 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Stade de la Mosson -- Montpellier, France
- TV: beIN Sports USA | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
- Odds: Montpellier +900; Draw: +450; PSG -350 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Team news
Montpellier: Elye Wahi and Wahbi Khazri are suspended so Valere Germain should deputize alongside Stephy Mavididi who scored twice in the win away at AJ Auxerre. Jordan Ferri has struggled with illness of late while Pedro Mendes has been nursing a hamstring issue. Mamadou Sakho will probably be on the bench as Romain Pitau looks to capitalize on that recent win to build some momentum.
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PSG: Marco Verratti is suspended after being sent off against Reims so Danilo Pereira or Renato Sanches could come in. Presnel Kimpembe and Nordi Mukiele will miss out again while Neymar has muscle fatigue and did not train on Tuesday. Nuno Mendes is nearing his comeback but will probably not be ready for this one.
Prediction
PSG should be able to bounce back with a win but Galtier has admitted to being worried about his team's form and performances. Despite that, Montpellier really are struggling of late and Les Parisiens' attack should be too strong for La Paillade. Pick: Montpellier 0, PSG 2.
