Paris St Germain vs Lorient preview - PSG hope for Lorient lift

Posted Thursday, March 19, 2015 by PA

Paris St Germain hope to return to winning ways when they take on Lorient in Ligue 1 this weekend.

The French champions host Lorient at the Parc des Princes on Friday night and a win would see them move top at Lyon's expense, ahead of their clash with Nice on Saturday.

Laurent Blanc steered his side into the quarter-finals of the Champions League eight days ago as they knocked out 2012 winners Chelsea, while fourth-placed Monaco joined them in the last eight on away goals this week after their 3-3 aggregate result against fellow Premier League side Arsenal.

Since then, Les Parisiens suffered a 3-2 defeat away to Bordeaux as they returned to Ligue 1 action last weekend with Diego Rolan's late winner striking a blow to their title hopes at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

Before that loss, Blanc's men were undefeated in their previous eight league games and they hope to return to winning ways against Lorient.

Blanc suffered a double blow following their last match as David Luiz and Yohan Cabaye sustained injuries.

Luiz is doubtful for Friday's game and the match comes too soon for Cabaye as Blanc told www.psg.fr: "I'm most unhappy that we lost two players. David Luiz is suffering with a muscular problem, his hamstring. For Cabaye, it's the knee."

Young defender Presnel Kimpembe is hoping PSG can collect three points to remain in line for some silverware this season after signing a professional contract with the club this week.

The 19-year-old, who has featured in just one match so far - coming off the bench in a 3-1 win over Lens in October - hopes his side can continue to fight for the title with a result on Friday.

He "Paris Saint Germain is a great club, the only one in Europe still fighting in four competitions.

"There's a reason for that. It's up to us to play well enough in the coming weeks to win titles."

Their opponents currently sit just five points above the relegation zone following a mixed bag of recent results and they look to build on Saturday's 2-1 victory over Caen to pull further up the table.

Lorient coach Sylvain Ripoll was pleased to tie down two of his side's brightest young talents with Yoann Wachter and Valentin Lavigne both signing new deals at the Stade du Moustoir on Wednesday.

He told the club's official website: "'They showed a lot of good things this year when we asked them. They are now part of this period with the club. For a club like FC Lorient, it is important to be able to rely on our centre and youth."

Lavigne remains sidelined for the visitors with a hip injury as he awaits surgery.