Paris St Germain boss Thomas Tuchel insists his side are calm despite a string of injured players as they prepare to face Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes.
PSG are Ligue 1’s runaway leaders, with a 20-point lead over nearest rivals Lille and could lift the title on Sunday if they record a 10th successive league win and Lille fail to win at Reims.
“We must not think too much,” Tuchel told a press conference reported by psg.fr.
“We must concentrate on the match. I think that Lille can win, they play with lots of confidence and quality.
“We must focus on ourselves, without thinking about the possible consequences of the match.”
As PSG bid for their second successive Ligue 1 title, they will be without a number of key players including Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Moussa Diaby, Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria, while Thomas Meunier will be assessed on Saturday after training.
Tuchel added strike duo Neymar and Cavani had returned to individual training while Di Maria was not 100 per cent ahead of the game.
The German manager added: “Our responsibility will be to win, even if it is difficult to build a team with so many injured players, since we cannot take risks with them. But we are calm.”
Strasbourg are currently in ninth place, seven points off Saint-Etienne in the European qualifying places, but have won only one of their last five matches.
After winning the Coupe de la Ligue final against Guingamp, Strasbourg recorded their first league win since January 26, a convincing 4-0 win over Reims.
Manager Thierry Laurey told a press conference reported by the club’s Twitter account: “The victory against Reims allows us to go to Paris calmer. We will give the best of ourselves by being very serious and we will see at the end.”
On the visit to Paris he added: “15 matches, 15 wins, six goals conceded…It’s not a fortress, it’s worse.
“We have the goal to finish in the best way because we want to play without distorting the competition and we have to respect those who come to watch us.”
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