Paris St Germain vs Anderlecht preview - Star duo missing for PSG

Posted Monday, November 04, 2013 by PA

Paris St Germain will be without the in-form strike duo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani as they bid to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League with victory over Anderlecht.

Should the Belgians, who are still pointless in Group C, suffer defeat at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday then PSG will progress to the last 16 irrespective of what happens between Olympiacos and Benfica.

Three emphatic wins have brought the French champions to this enviable position, but they would certainly have found life harder if not for the exploits of Sweden striker Ibrahimovic, who became only the 10th player to score four goals in a Champions League match during the 5-0 triumph in Brussels.

He felt discomfort in his knee after Friday's 4-0 Ligue 1 win over Lorient, however, while 63million euro man Cavani was hit in the leg during the same game.

The Uruguayan has scored 11 goals since arriving from Napoli in the summer and neither man will be risked by PSG coach Laurent Blanc.

At his pre-match press conference, the former France boss said: "Edi is suffering from a little bit of pain in his right thigh.

"Zlatan doesn't have a serious injury but it could get worse. And that's why we will be prudent."

Brazilian defender Thiago Silva is not quite ready to return from his own thigh injury, but despite the lack of key personnel Blanc has promised to be "intransigent" and field his strongest possible side.

Even though progression could be secured against the Belgians, Blanc knows it is too early to start experimenting with alternative line-ups.

He added: "When results have been very good you have to be careful not to relax.

"We can qualify tomorrow so we will be motivated. This is one of the most important games of the group stage."

Blaise Matuidi admits he "cannot wait" to see the back of the group stage but shares his manager's concerns that PSG could be punished if they slack off on Tuesday night.

He said: "The goal is to qualify for the last 16 and we will do everything we can to achieve that.

"We won over there but that doesn't count any more. The Champions League is very complicated and it's difficult to win every game."

Anderlecht take a 3-1 league win over OH Leuven into the daunting encounter and, even though he is trying to stay positive, coach John van den Brom knows it will be a case of damage limitation in Paris.

He told Nieuwsblad: "In my head, we're still in the race. We can at least do better than last time, surely that can't be so difficult."

To add insult to injury, top scorer Matias Suarez has been ruled out for the rest of the season with cruciate knee ligament damage.

Right-back Guillaume Gillet, meanwhile, is doubtful after cutting his knee last month.