Bordeaux coach Vladimir Petkovic says working together will be the key to Les Girondins getting a result at home to Ligue 1 Uber Eats leaders Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday evening.
BORDEAUX - PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (kick-off at 20:00 GMT on Saturday)
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Thanks to two goals from evergreen substitute Jimmy Briand, Bordeaux came from 2)0 down at home in Round 12 to win 3-2, a result that did much to lift the squad coached by Petkovic. Backing it up with another success against the club top of the standings will be a tall order as the former Switzerland boss well knows.
Petkovic said: "We'll need to work as a team as individually they are too strong for us. We'll need to put in the effort and the players will have to help each other out in order to be the better team on the field. It's vital that we play as a team and that each player comes to the aid of his team-mate."
Bordeaux haven't won any of their last 12 Ligue 1 matches against PSG, losing eight of them, but have picked up after a slow start under Petkovic, suffering only one defeat in their last seven league games in order to stand 16th in the table on 12 points, five points clear of the bottom two.
Petkovic added: "I don't think all of PSG's stars will play, we'll have to wait and see about that. Our players know all about these type of games, certain players have played with such stars before, and it should give them extra motivation in order to prove on the pitch that we're strong as a team, not individually."
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Petkovic expanded further on what will undoubtedly provide the themes of his team talk: "We need to go out onto the field without fear and with the conviction that we can beat our opponents. It will be difficult. We need to believe it and prove on the field that we can win this sort of match."
PSG suffered a midweek setback when a stoppage-time penalty saw RB Leipzig rescue a 2-2 draw at home to the French leaders in the UEFA Champions League. PSG head into Round 13 - the final round of league games before the international window - with an eight-point advantage at the top from second-placed Nice.
Pochettino: "Didn't manage to kill the game"
PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted on Wednesday evening: "We were 2-1 up and nearly scored a third through Kylian. We didn't manage to kill the game. When the match is open, your opponents believe in themselves and when you give them chances, you can concede.
"The way we played in the first 20 minutes, I don't want to see that again. I think we were all disappointed with the first 15-20 minutes. We need to start off in a different manner. It's something we'll talk about and try to improve."
Probable Teams:
Bordeaux: (to follow)
Paris Saint-Germain: (to follow)
