Paris St Germain vs Toulouse preview - Blanc demands repeat performance

Posted Saturday, February 21, 2015 by PA

Laurent Blanc believes his Paris St Germain side will beat Toulouse on Saturday if they can mirror their midweek Champions League performance.

The reigning Ligue 1 champions sit two points off top spot as they welcome Alain Casanova's side to the Parc des Princes on the back of a strong showing in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Tuesday night.

The Barclays Premier League side departed the French capital with their last-16 tie still in the balance despite being outplayed by Blanc's side - and the former France captain believes PSG can keep up the pace with Lyon and Marseille with a similar display.

"By repeating this kind of performance, the result will be better than that obtained on Tuesday," Blanc said at his pre-match press conference.

"There were many positive things in that game. It is important to make a difference in the mindset and take three points.

"If we could achieve the same performance on Saturday against Toulouse as we carried out Tuesday against Chelsea, everyone would agree (we should win)."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be available for the game despite being hit with a two-match ban by the Ligue de Football Professionnel for a late challenge on Romain Hamuoma in a 1-0 win over St Etienne last month.

The suspension will not come into effect until after Saturday's meeting with 17th-placed Toulouse - who held PSG to a 1-1 draw when the sides met at the Stadium Municipal back in September.

With Casanova would no doubt have preferred to see Ibrahimovic sidelined for the upcoming contest, he believes keeping the Sweden international in Ligue 1 is vital for the whole of the division.

"Rather than seeing the wrong side, you have to see the good," he said when asked about recent criticisms of Ibrahimovic.

"Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an extraordinary player for PSG and for Ligue 1 as a whole. But one day, through people criticising him, he will leave for another league.

"Today we really value these type of players. It would become a second-class championship if it were not for the arrival of such players and such a team existing in the French championship."