Probably relying on the return of Neymar, PSG makes this Wednesday, January 24, their second match in the French Cup 2017/2018 edition. In the Parc de Princes stadium, in the French capital, it receives the Guingamp. The confrontation starts scheduled for 3:30 pm (Brasília time).
At this stage of the dispute, tournament regulations require definition in a single game. If there is no winner at the end of the regular time, a 30-minute extension will be made. If equality persists, the decision will be through penalty kicks.
After the crisis opened after an exuberant performance of Neymar and without being able to count on the Brazilian, Paris Saint-Germain was beaten by Lyon, 2 to 1, away from home in Sunday’s classic. Despite the result that may be considered by many surprises, the situation of the club in the fight for the French Championship has changed very little.
Even parked in the 56 points (18 wins, two draws and two losses), the PSG continues in the lead with relatively large advantage. It was only down from 11 to eight points in the comparison with Lyon, placed second. Anyway, the title is very well underway.
What is not following a good trajectory is the group relationship. Although he was out of Sunday’s match due to the alleged injury, striker Neymar (15 games in the 2017/2018 French Championship, 15 goals) led another controversy at the club.
He did not let striker Edinson Cavani (21 games, 20 goals) beat a penalty in a 8-0 victory over Dijon in the previous round of Ligue 1. The Uruguayan needed only one goal to become, in front of his fans, the greatest scorer in club history. This still has to happen, but the fact that the Brazilian did not give the teammate the right to charge the penalty shot caused protests from the fans.
After the boos, clearly uncontrolled, Neymar left the field hastily and even celebrated the story win alongside his teammates. With four goals scored and two assists provided, the striker became the first player in history to receive a ten rating for a performance from the sports newspaper L ‘Equipe.
The attitude of the athlete made him suspicious of the alleged thigh injury that took him out of Lyon. Thus, it is quite possible that after the decrease of the repercussion of the case he will be rescheduled on Wednesday.
He is not the only Brazilian with problems in PSG. Right-back Daniel Alves (15 games, no goal) has been criticized by the press for the many spaces he leaves for attacks on the right side of defense due to his constant advances. His situation was further complicated by the fact that he received a red card in the game against Lyon in the 12th minute of the second half, when the game was still tied in a 1 to 1. Neymar’s ‘parade’, the side was considered the main culprit of failure in Lyon.
The current form of Guingamp
Guingamp, who had been a victim of Lyon (2-0) in the previous round, lost again on Saturday, January 20, in the French Championship. As a visitor, he took 3-1 to Amiens. However, he is still relatively comfortable in the match. With 29 points (eight wins, five draws and nine losses) he is in ninth place.
Although he is in the first half of the standings, his fight is against relegation. In this case, it has seven points ahead in the comparison with Lille, eighteenth placed and first in the region of the sticking.
To face the powerful PSG, coach Antoine Kombouare has only one doubt. Striker Abdoul Camara (14 matches in the 2017/2018 French Championship, two goals) was out of the last seven matches because of a knee injury. It depends on new tests that will determine if you can be available to the coach.
History of the PSG vs Guingamp
In the last eight meetings between the teams no draw was recorded. PSG won six times and Guingamp won two games.
Although it is an eliminatory game and the weather is not one of the best in PSG, the Parisian team should still be considered the best guessing option for Wednesday’s showdown. It has a price of 1,071 on Bet365. Draw shows return of 13.00. With a prize of 21.00, Guingamp is the biggest underdog of the fourth phase of the French Cup. Quotations in force at 15:21 on 22/1/2018.