Saint-Etienne vs PSG: TV channel, live stream, team news & preview After their midweek heroics against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Thomas Tuchel's side face another difficult away trip Paris Saint-Germain will aim to continue their recent run of success when they visit Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Ligue 1 duty on Sunday. Heading into round 25 of action in France’s top flight, PSG command a 10-point advantage over Lille at the summit, though their attentions turned to Europe in midweek as they impressively eased past Manchester United 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash. Saint-Etienne were also in action over the course of the week, playing host to Strasbourg in an encounter that saw them run out 2-1 winners. The fourth-placed side could really step up their Champions League hopes with a win. Game Saint-Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain Date Sunday, February 17 Time 8:00pm GMT / 3:00pm ET TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch In the United States (US), the game can be watched on beIN SPORTS, while it is available to stream via beIN SPORTS CONNECT US TV channel Online stream beIN SPORTS beIN SPORTS CONNECT In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD. It can be streamed on BT Sport Live. UK TV channel Online stream BT Sport 1 / BT Sport 4K UHD BT Sport Live Squads & Team News Position Saint-Etienne players Goalkeepers Vermot , Ruffier, Moulin, Bajic Defenders Polomat, Saliba, Kolodziejczak, Silva, Perrin, Debuchy, Subotic, Panos Midfielders M'Vila, Ait Bennasser, Vada Forwards Cabella, Diony, Khazri, Gueye, Nordin, Salibur, Monnet-Paquet, Beric, Abi Saint-Etienne striker Lois Diony is back after suffering a cut to his foot in midweek that prevented him from playing against Strasbourg. Given that Robert Beric stepped in to score one and assist the other, he is not guaranteed to start. Head coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who was once assistant to Laurent Blanc at Parc des Princes, otherwise has few major concerns, though January signing Valentin Vada is out. Ex-Arsenal man Mathieu Debuchy is set to be recalled. Possible Saint-Etienne starting XI: Ruffier; Perrin, Subotic, Kolodziejczak; Debuchy, M’Vila, Ait Bennasser, Gabriel Silva; Cabella; Beric, Khazri Position PSG squad Goalkeepers Buffon, Areola Defenders Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat, Marquinhos, Dani Alves, Kurzawa, Dagba, N'Soki Midfielders Verratti, Draxler, Di Maria, Paredes, Nkunku Forwards Mbappe, Choupo-Moting, Diaby Paris Saint-Germain are again without Neymar and Edinson Cavani, leaving them short of offensive options beyond Kylian Mbappe. Thomas Meunier continues to miss out with concussion while there are some doubts over Marco Verratti. With a busy fixture list, which will see them host Bordeaux in midweek, rotation in the starting XI seems likely. Possible Paris Saint-Germain starting XI: Areola; Dagba, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Kurzawa; Paredes, Dani Alves; Diaby, Draxler, Di Maria; Mbappe Betting & Match Odds PSG are 3/5 favourites with Bet365. Saint-Etienne can be backed at 17/4, while the draw is priced at 10/3. Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more. Match Preview Paris Saint-Germain enjoyed a terrific week, largely thanks to a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, which puts them in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2016. Thomas Tuchel’s men made light of the absence of Neymar and Edinson Cavani to run out winners thanks to strikes from Presnel Kimpembe – his first for the capital club – and Kylian Mbappe. The result and the maturity of the performance has heightened the expectation that PSG are serious challengers for the European crown, although the former Dortmund boss was eager to keep his side’s feet on the ground. “We know we are capable of winning, but they are capable of winning in Paris as well,” he said in the immediate aftermath. “That's what sport is all about, particularly when we are playing football and in the Champions League. Now of course we will enjoy this but tomorrow we start preparing for the game against Saint-Etienne. “We cannot rest on our laurels and start thinking about the quarter-finals as it is only half-time in the tie.” Experienced full-back Dani Alves, meanwhile, was rather more forthright in his aim. Article continues below “I think we have to lose the virginity in the Champions League this season once and for all. We are working hard for it,” he said. Indeed, Ligue 1 is virtually tied up for the Parc des Princes side, who can afford to channel their efforts towards Europe.<doc-sep>PSG won their 20th league game of the season on Sunday as a superb Kylian Mbappe volley was all that separated them from fifth place, Saint Etienne. The away victory extended PSG’s lead atop Ligue 1 to 12 points with two games in hand and showed they were capable against one of the divisions better sides without key personnel such as Neymar, Cavani and Meunier. The following article will analyse how Thomas Tuchel’s side overcame opponents who have proved hard to beat for other French sides in 2018/19. Lineups Home side St Etienne lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with former Newcastle midfielder Remy Cabella in the No.10 role behind strikers Wahbi Khazri and Romain Hamouma. Manager Jean-Louis Gasset made two changes from their last outing (a 2-1 win over Strasbourg), the most notable of which being Mathieu Debuchy slotting into a centre-back position at the expense of Neven Subotic. The visitors played in a 3-5-2 system with veteran Dani Alves and youngster Moussa Diaby supplying the width as wing-backs. Left-back Juan Bernat sat into a midfield role alongside new signing Leandro Paredes and Julian Draxler. Thomas Tuchel made three changes from the side that beat Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford last Tuesday. The use of wing-backs As opposed to his predecessors Unai Emery and Laurent Blanc in Paris, Thomas Tuchel has been extremely open to tactical versatility in his first season in charge. The use of wing-backs in either a back three of back five, in particular, has been common practice in Ligue 1. Angel Di Maria, Juan Bernat, Lurwin Kurzawa, Thomas Meunier and Christopher Nkunku have all been used as wing-backs at different times and against St Etienne Dani Alves and Moussa Diaby took up the role. Both proved useful attacking outlets on their respected wings but both at times were exposed in defensive areas. 19-year-old Diaby shined brightest out of the two. His movement down the left-hand side proved too quick and lively for St Etienne centre-back Debuchy and he found much more joy than Alves did in the penalty area. The system was just as dependant on the back three as the wing-backs. In the first half, centre-backs Silva, Marquinhos and Kehrer completed more passes than anyone, with a combined total of 179. For times in the match, the visitors got caught in a rut of passing it around the back with no intent or pace with Paredes the only realistic passing option. The wing-backs started too high when PSG were trying to progress play from deep and this is an aspect of their game Tuchel should try to improve. In possession, the wing-backs typically played very high up the field as shown by the image below in which the team shape is a 3-3-4. That’s not to say Diaby and Alves weren’t completely averse to defensive duties. Tuchel deployed several of the traditional hallmarks of a three at the back system. These included the right and left hand-sided centre-backs splitting wide to receive the ball from the goalkeeper and the wing-backs joining the back three to form a defensive bank of five when under pressure. That being said, Alves is not as defensively savvy as he once was and made a couple of silly fouls on the night whilst Diaby’s positional awareness wasn’t as strong in defence as it was going forward. Though Thomas Tuchel is obviously a talented manager and has changed the tactical adaptability of this PSG side for the better, the use of wing-backs was largely ineffective. Diaby and Alves were anonymous for large spells which put more burden on a midfield severely lacking in creativity. When Alves was pushed into a central midfield role later on in the game he provided the assist for Mbappe’s goal which perhaps demonstrates to the manager that, at this stage of his career, the Brazilian should play more as either a No.10 or right winger. The movement of Mbappe As mentioned before, PSG lacked creativity from the midfield on the night with Julian Draxler, in particular, having an appalling game. One of the bright spots from an attacking point of view was, as always, Kylian Mbappe who scored the decisive goal as well as completing three dribbles and taking three shots. Playing in a front two alongside Angel Di Maria, Mbappe drifted onto his natural right-hand side when trying to create play around the penalty area. This freed up space for Di Maria and Draxler (who should have scored just before the hour mark) in the 18 yard box. As usual, the Frenchman drifted in the space between the central defender and the left-sided defender to good effect. His pace, trickery and movement off the ball are unparalleled by anyone in French football at the moment and he shone once again in Saint Etienne. The service that was supplied to him in the first half was pretty inadequate, however, as Alves and Diaby struggled to make an impact and Draxler was lacklustre. Mbappe once again proved himself as one of Europe’s elite forward players and perhaps the most important cog in Tuchel’s machine at PSG. His movement and speed was arguably the only attacking positive to take from the game for the visitors. PSG’s press Another aspect of PSG’s game Thomas Tuchel has improved since his arrival is the press. The side no longer simply enjoy meaningless possession and use the pace and aggressiveness of players such as Mbappe and Draxler to cut down passing lanes. The away team played with constant energy and bite even if the quality in attack was subpar in the first period. When pressing St Etienne’s defensive three, PSG would go forward in groups of four resembling a rectangle or rhombus. Due to the deep positioning of debutant Leandro Paredes throughout the game, that pressing four typically consisted of Bernat, Draxler, Di Maria and Mbappe. In the image below, PSG have just cleared their lines from a set piece and the backline (including wing-backs) is pressing high whilst the front four all get close to the St Etienne defensive three. Overall, this nullified any threat of the ball being delivered back into the penalty area or even a sustained spell of possession starting again for the home side. PSG also pressed high with their back three/five. When St Etienne tried to deploy their full-backs or wide midfielders for width in their 3-4-1-2 system PSG would create defensive overloads in tight spaces with even Mbappe dropping back in some cases. St Etienne struggled to find their feet on home soil and crumbled when attacked with more purpose and momentum in the second half. It was a disappointing outing from a side who have managed to cause French football’s big teams some problems this season. Conclusion PSG were far from their best in St Etienne but via their forward press and obvious star quality up front, they managed to scrape to an admittedly deserved victory. They asserted their dominance early on and if Draxler had buried the two chances he had either side of half time the night could have been a lot less nervy for the visitors. St Etienne will look to rebound from this disappointment with a trip to Dijon next weekend before travelling to Marseille in two weeks time. PSG, meanwhile, will look to continue their dominant form in Ligue 1 with a midweek game against Montpellier and then a home game against Nimes on Saturday. If you love tactical analysis, then you’ll love the digital magazines from totalfootballanalysis.com– a guaranteed 100+ pages of pure tactical analysis covering topics from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and many, many more. Buy your copy of the February issue for just ₤4.99 here, or even better sign up for a ₤50 annual membership (12 monthly issues plus the annual review) right here.<doc-sep>Kylian Mbappe hit a superb second-half winner as Paris St Germain triumphed 1-0 at St Etienne to go 12 points clear at the top of Ligue 1. Five days on from his strike in the 2-0 Champions League last-16 first-leg victory at Manchester United, the 20-year-old France international registered his 19th league goal of the season with a delightful volley in the 73rd minute. PSG, once again without injured pair Neymar and Edinson Cavani, had gone close to scoring six minutes earlier through Angel Di Maria, while Julian Draxler was denied by a fine Stephane Ruffier save earlier in the half. Kylian Mbappe picked up from where he left off at Old Trafford by downing St Etienne Mbappe broke the deadlock with 17 minutes left to play to send his side 12 points clear MATCH FACTS St Etienne: Ruffier; Debuchy, Perrin, Kolodziejczak, Gabriel Silva; Aït-Bennasser, M'Vila; Monnet-Paquet, Cabella, Hamouma; Khazri. Subs: Polomat, Saliba, Diony, Nordin, Salibur, Beric, Moulin Manager: Jean-Louis Gasset PSG: Areola; Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Bernat; Diaby, Dani Alves, Paredes, Di Maria; Draxler, Mbappe. Subs: Buffon, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Nkunku, Dagba, Nsoki Goals: Mbappe 73 Manager: Thomas Tuchel Advertisement As well as being 12 points clear of second-placed Lille, Thomas Tuchel's men also have two games in hand. St Etienne remain fifth. The first save of the contest was made by Alphonse Areola in the 11th minute when the PSG goalkeeper dealt with a low Kevin Monnet-Paquet strike at the near post. As the visitors started to show some threat, Draxler turned magnificently before firing wildly into the stand, and a fierce hit from Mbappe - who it appeared should have been flagged offside - was turned behind by Ruffier. Dani Alves was next to try his luck on the St Etienne goal, producing an effort similar in quality to Draxler's shot, and Juan Bernat then sent the ball wide from Moussa Diaby's cut-back. After Monnet-Paquet had a weak shot gathered by Areola, Wahbi Khazri came to the fore in a bad-tempered conclusion to the half. In an off-the-ball incident, Leandro Paredes - making his first PSG start - went to the turf holding his face having run past Khazri, who it appeared had put his hand on the Argentinian's body. The game was held up for a period before Khazri escaped without punishment - but he was then booked moments later by referee Benoit Bastien for something he said. Tensions started to boil over as the Ligue 1 champions got frustrated with the home side Mbappe's side were struggling to break down St Etienne in the first hour of the game Ten minutes into the second half the away side carved out a good opportunity as Mbappe found Draxler and the German's shot was well saved by Ruffier. The ball went just wide of the PSG goal in the 62nd minute as Gabriel Silva, under pressure from substitute Colin Dagba, failed to steer it in. The champions were then back on the front foot, with Mbappe volleying over and Di Maria curling an effort just wide. And the deadlock was subsequently broken when Alves lofted a pass towards the box and Mbappe met it with a sweet connection that sent the ball into the top corner. The closest St Etienne came in their search for an equaliser was Monnet-Paquet driving an attempt over the bar in the 84th minute.<doc-sep>
A moment of magic from Kylian Mbappe gave Paris Saint-Germain a hard-fought 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1. The reigning champions and runaway leaders bounced back from a 2-1 loss to Lyon at the start of the month by beating Bordeaux 1-0 last weekend, however, Thomas Tuchel's team were short of their best once more at Stade Geoffroy Guichard. Mbappe dazzled in the 2-0 Champions League win over Manchester United on Tuesday but found the going tougher in a line-up without the considerable talents of Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Marco Verratti and Thomas Meunier. 19 - Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷 is the first French player to score 19 goals in his first 18 games of a Ligue 1 season over the last 45 years. Unsane. @PSG_English pic.twitter.com/fJRQgL0AyB — OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 17, 2019 Yet he settled matters with aplomb in the 73rd minute, swivelling to guide Dani Alves's lofted pass into the top corner on the volley. It was the act of a player a class apart from the rest – much like PSG, who are 12 points ahead of Lille at the summit with two games in hand. The same combination that undid United in midweek were to the fore again, with Angel Di Maria storming forward on the break in the 20th minute to play in Mbappe, whose shot was beaten away at the near post by Stephane Ruffier. Mbappe felt the effects of a robust challenge from Romain Hamouma, who had a shot blocked by PSG captain Thiago Silva late in the first half after Thilo Kehrer's misjudged headed clearance. Ruffier smothered a shot from Julian Draxler at close quarters in the 55th minute, Di Maria and Mbappe having combined on the end of Marquinhos' excellent raking pass. Juan Bernat's replacement Colin Dagba was quickly into the action with a last-ditch challenge to deny Saint-Etienne wing-back Gabriel Silva, with Kevin Monnet-Paquet going close from the resulting 63rd-minute corner. Di Maria should have done better when he skewed wide two minutes later, leaving Mbappe to majestically show him how it was done. He showed a more pragmatic side as he joined substitute Layvin Kurzawa in being booked for kicking the ball away in stoppage time - PSG closing out a result that denied Saint-Etienne a move into the top four. What does it mean? Any team in the world would miss Neymar PSG's wonderfully composed win over Manchester United won deserved plaudits but this grasping and increasingly forced performance underlined that victory at Old Trafford came despite the absence of their star forward and not because of it. NEYMAR OUT FOR MAN UNITED SECOND LEG - FATHER Cavani's return will also be welcomed as centre-forward duties weighed a little heavily on the mercurial Mbappe until he produced another picturebook moment in a career already stuffed with them. Masterful from Marquinhos The Brazil international's shackling of Paul Pobga at Old Trafford underlined how swiftly he has developed from emergency midfield option to a dependable holding player in his own right. Marquinhos was back in his natural centre-back role here, unfurling a wonderful range of passing and appearing the coolest under pressure as the hosts launched their second-half forays. A Rolls Royce of a player. Close shave for Bernat The willingness of PSG's players to undertake unfamiliar roles and operate with flexible tactics has been a symbol of their development under Tuchel. Bernat started sharply enough on the left of a midfield three but was found wanting when a rare opening fell his way in the box. After his booking for fouling Mathieu Debuchy early in the second half, a 56th-minute challenge on Timothee Kolodziejczak was, at best, ill-advised and Tuchel had seen enough. What's next PSG tackle their rescheduled Ligue 1 home game against Montpellier on Wednesday – the first of three games in the space of six days at the Parc des Princes. Saint-Etienne travel to Dijon on Friday.