PSG are eager to bounce back

Paris Saint-Germain will be desperate to get back on track after their shock 1-2 defeat at Lyon, when they face a trip to Saint Etienne for a French Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday.

The capital city side suffered a first domestic defeat since March 2015 on Sunday, and know that it will not be easy away to Les Verts, who are well in the hunt for a Champions League place.

PSG coach Laurent Blanc said that his men were “too average” in their loss at Parc OL, but it will be interesting to see if St Etienne try and mirror Lyon’s tactics and play a high press against the cup holders.

The Frenchman called on his team to rediscover the spirit that helped them go 36 league matches unbeaten.

“When I see the last ten minutes of the game, when we tried to come back, I can say that we were too average to do anything, even if it is Paris, even if it is my team,” he said.

“The mentality and the aggression that enabled us to stay unbeaten for so long had gone, but we can quickly rediscover that spirit.” Blanc added. He also has injury problems to worry about with important fixtures coming thick and fast. Marco Verratti is again on the sidelines, while Di Maria missed the Lyon loss after limping off against Reims.