Paris Saint-Germain - Montpellier Hérault SC

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PSG lead Montpellier by a single point at the top of the table, and with a further ten points down to Lille, Lyon and Rennes it is beginning to look like a two-horse race for the championship. This game, then, could be decisive, with Paris knowing that a win would see them open up a four-point gap, but Montpellier could strike a hammer blow to the capital club's morale by snatching a surprise victory.

The clash in front of a sell-out crowd at the Parc brings together a PSG side with the best defensive record in the division, and a Montpellier outfit with the best attack in Ligue 1, including the league's leading scorer, 16-goal Olivier Giroud. PSG are unbeaten in their last eight league games and, after recording a narrow 1-0 win at Dijon in the Coupe de France last 16 on Wednesday, have not lost any of the seven matches played in all competitions since Carlo Ancelotti took over as coach during the winter break.

Meanwhile, Montpellier have won all four league games - and all seven matches played in all competitions - since the turn of the year, and have done so without conceding a single goal. They are also arguably the more consistent of the two teams, having not dropped below fourth at any point this season. It is little wonder that Paris' Brazilian maverick Nenê - who got the only goal of the game at Dijon to take his tally to 16 for the season - sees the showdown as crucial.

Nene: "Montpellier are a top-level side"

"This match will most certainly be decisive, we will be up against a direct rival, and we will be playing at home," he told the media ahead of the game. "Montpellier are a top-level side. They are well-balanced and solid, especially at the back. They have the qualities needed to compete at the top of the table, as they are proving every weekend. They are our main rivals for the title.

"It won't exactly be a decider because there will still be a lot of matches left before the end of the season, but it will be the match of the year so far. We really want to take the three points and open up a four-point gap. That would be ideal in terms of confidence."

Montpellier have lost just twice in their last ten visits to the Parc des Princes on league duty, and Giroud believes that their greater cohesion could give them the edge against a PSG side full of individual talent but still trying to gel.

"Montpellier, above all, are a squad of players that have worked together for months, even years, while the Paris players are still getting to know one another," said the 25-year-old, who scored both his team's goals in a 2-2 draw in last season's corresponding fixture. "They have brought in some great individual talents recently and I can confirm what is being said just about everywhere, that Paris are not yet a team as such. So if we can go there and play our game we can cause them problems.

"If we lose this match, it won?t be the end of the world," he added. "There will still be 14 matches left to play. We shouldn't draw any major conclusions from this match but we would like to put on a performance that is in line with what we have done so far this season, play without any complexes, and show that Montpellier will be in there right until the end."

Montpellier on revenge mission

The visitors would also like to avenge their 3-0 defeat to Paris when the sides met at the Stade de la Mosson back in late September. That result remains PSG's biggest win this season, and Montpellier's biggest defeat.

Javier Pastore - scorer of two goals in the reverse fixture - is expected to return to the home line-up this weekend after a month on the sidelines with a thigh injury. If he starts, then Kévin Gameiro is likely to have to settle for a place on the bench. Ancelotti has Siaka Tiéné back after going all the way to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with Côte d'Ivoire, and the Italian will make sweeping changes to the side that won at Dijon in midweek.

For what will be his 100th Ligue 1 game in charge of Montpellier, René Girard is without Geoffrey Dernis (knee), but Brazilian centre-back Vitorino Hilton will hope to return after missing last week's 3-0 win over Ajaccio with a thigh problem.

Probable teams:

PSG: Sirigu; Bisevac, Alex, Sakho, Maxwell; M. Sissoko, Matuidi, Thiago Motta; Ménez, Gameiro (or Pastore), Nene.

Montpellier: Jourdren; Bocaly, Yanga-Mbiwa, Hilton, Bédimo; Saihi, Marveaux (or Estrada), Belhanda; S. Camara, Giroud, Utaka.

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