Olympique Lyonnais will be looking for a strong result to break them out of the doldrums (one win in their last six Ligue 1 Uber Eats matches) when they travel to the capital to take on Paris FC in the Coupe de France round of 64 on Friday night.
Coupe de France round of 64
Paris FC - Olympique Lyonnais
- Kick-off at 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT)
Olympique Lyonnais' Dutch coach Peter Bosz has been coming under increasing pressure to produce results as his side, who on paper would appear to be a top-three club in France, struggle to convert their quality into results and as the club experiences the turbulence surrounding sporting director Juninho's resignation.
Pressure?
Thus many of the questions addressed to Bosz in the pre-match presser were on this subject and not on the upcoming clash with Ligue 2 BKT's fourth-placed side Paris FC. Somewhat frustrated, the OL boss looked to get that part of the discussion out of the way early.
"No, I don't think my job is on the line [in this match and the next one, against Metz, in Ligue 1 Uber Eats Round 19 next Wednesday]," said the Dutchman. "Yes, I feel that the club's directors are behind me. There are always things that happen around a club. I'm used to it. Of course, you never know how it will be [when you arrive], but that's normal."
Moving right along...
He then moved on to much more positive territory, discussing Les Gones' Round 18 clash with LOSC - despite its having been a scoreless draw at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
"For the first time since I've been here, I saw a team that played together, even though we had relatively few chances to score," said the former Dortmund coach. "Success starts with that the collective aspect. We have very strong offensive players, with individual qualities. That's not in question. In terms of our attitude, I saw good things in Lille, that I hadn't really seen before."
Dembélé to lead
To take on Paris FC who, helmed by former Strasbourg boss Thierry Laurey, are on a run of five-straight wins in Ligue 2 BKT, Bosz is tipped to stick with Jérôme Boateng, Damien Da Silva and Castello Lukeba in a three-man back-line, with Euro winner Emerson and Malo Gusto as wing-backs in a 3-4-2-1.
Moussa Dembélé should once again lead the attack - and wear the captain's armband - while the dangerous Lucas Paqueta and Houssem Aouar pull the strings midfield. Boss will also have a fit-again Xerdan Shaqiri and Karl Toko Ekambi on the bench - and up his sleeve - in case of emergency.
Probable teams
Paris FC: Filipovic; Koré, Bernauer, Kanté (c), Hadjam; Name, Demoncy, Diakité; Alfarela, Laura, Guilavogui
Olympique Lyonnais: Lopes; Da Silva, Boateng, Lukeba; Gusto, Caqueret, Thiago Mendes, Emerson; Paqueta, Aouar; Dembélé (c)