PSG – Valencia 06.03.2013

Paris Saint-Germain have an excellent season.

They are on the first place in domestic League One and they managed to win in the first match against Valencia at Mestalla. That means Paris Saint-Germain will qualify to the quarter-final with draw on this match. Even a defeat of 0:1 is good enough for them. But the coach Carlo Ancelotti has big problems in front of this match. Two important players are suspended, one of them irreplaceable. The striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic received a red card in stoppage time in Spain and won’t play at Parc des Princes. He is the team top goalscorer this season and his absence is a very big handicap for Ancelotti. The other suspended player is Marco Verratti. It is not clear who will replace Verratti, Ancelotti can choose between Clement Chantome and David Beckham. Additionally, Thiago Silva and Thiago Motta are injured.

Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde has Ricardo Costa and Adil Rami sidelined due to injuries. It is a problem for Valencia, their absence makes the things even worse. Valencia have one-goal deficit from the first leg and that’s another problem. The history say that Valencia failed to progress on all three occasions when they have suffered a first-leg defeat in Uefa competition. Valverde has another problem, his team failed to win on the last two domestic fixtures. They played draw on both matches, against Levante and Zaragoza. At the moment Valencia are out of the top four places on the table. This situation add some nervous to the squad.

I expect an efficient match at Parc des Princes in Paris. Valencia have no space for calculations, they need to score at least two goals to keep their promotions hopes live. That means only one, Valverde will push his players for offensive. To attack Paris Saint-Germain is not an easy task, even they are without Ibrahimovic. Ancelotti has good players, Kevin Gameiro will lead the attack, while Pastore and Lavezzi are behind him. Valencia have big problems in the defense, both first-choice central defenders are out (Adil Rami and Ricardo Costa). In situation like this, I think Over 2.5 is a good option for this game.