Paris Saint Germain Vs. Sevilla Preview

Posted Thursday, December 02, 2010 by Sportschatplace.com

The UEFA Europa League comes back with Matchday 5, many of these groups are still in contention but this group really isn’t one of them. Group J is pretty much decided between these two teams, PSG and Sevilla play each other in a match that can either officially decide the group or let Borussia Dortmund back into the conversation.

Sevilla are currently on a three match winning run in Europa League competition after losing their opening match to the Parisian club by a 1-0 score line. As for their form in La Liga they are currently sitting in 5^th place and in the mix for the final two Champions League spots, however they have lost a step in that regard losing 2 of their last 3 matches.

Coach Gregorio Manzano has done a good job with this team so far since coming over from Mallorca in the summer, but will be without arguably the clubs best player in Luís Fabiano due to a hamstring strain for 3 to 5 weeks.

In addition to Fabiano they will also be without Tiberio Guarente who is set to have knee surgery and will be out for 6 months.

The players to watch for the Spanish side are Álvaro Negredo, Diego Perotti and Andrés Palop, Negredo has really stepped up while Fabiano has been sidelined and the teams other influential player Frédéric Kanouté has been struggling.

In the case of PSG, this is a side that is undefeated in the group stages which is a carryover from their form in Ligue 1. The club from the capital currently sits in 4^th place but are only one point off of top spot, this is due to their 5 match unbeaten run where they could have actually gone top of the table if they turned some of the draws into wins.

Coach Antoine Kombouaré has rebounded off a disappointing campaign last season where they finished in 13^th; this has been largely due to his summer signings and more specifically the signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Nenê from fellow French side AS Monaco.

He leads the team with 10 goals in all competitions and provides an element of speed and technique. Other players to watch are the forward partnership of Guillaume Hoarau and Mevlüt Erdinç, last season they substituted for each other playing in a lone forward role but since playing together they have both flourished.

Kamal’s Prediction: I’m going for the draw in this one, their isn’t much to choose from between the two sides, but I’m also taking into account that a draw could see both teams through to the knockout round of 32.