PSG look to maintain distance from Ligue 1 rivals
Paris (AFP) - Paris Saint-Germain will look to underline their superiority over the rest of Ligue 1 with a win when they play host to Nantes at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night.
Laurent Blanc's side come into the weekend five points clear of Monaco at the summit and with confidence high after a clinical 3-1 win away to Bordeaux in the quarter-finals of the League Cup in midweek.
The capital outfit have been beaten just once - a 2-0 reverse at Evian last month - in domestic competition all season, and remain on course to win a domestic treble.
Tuesday's win against Bordeaux set up a League Cup semi-final away to Nantes at the Stade de le Beaujoire in early February, but it is at the Parc des Princes where the teams meet this weekend.
Les Canaris are enjoying a fine campaign themselves and lie in sixth place coming into the weekend but PSG are unbeaten in front of their own fans since November 2012, so anything other than a home win would be a huge surprise.
Blanc had the luxury of rotating his squad at Bordeaux, while Ligue 1 top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic only played the first 45 minutes.
The coach was delighted with the performances of fringe players such as Javier Pastore, who scored one goal and set up another at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.
"I was satisfied with individual performances but especially the collective performance," said Blanc.
"We are playing on all fronts and we don't have any serious injury concerns or suspension worries over yellow cards, but we are still a long way from the 'Grand Slam'," he continued, with PSG also looking forward to a Champions League last-16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen next month.
Monaco are also in action on Sunday, when they travel to face Toulouse looking for a first win in three Ligue 1 outings.
Fixtures (all times 1900 GMT unless noted):
Sunday
Reims v Lyon (1300, Toulouse v Monaco (1600), Paris Saint-Germain v Nantes (2000)
