Paris Saint-Germain are looking to create history this weekend by claiming a first treble in the club's history when they take on Auxerre in the Coupe de France final.
Coupe de la Ligue and Ligue 1 success already in the bag, Laurent Blanc's men are just 90 minutes away from rounding off their season in a memorable fashion.
Paris Saint-Germain
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While reaching at least the final four of the Champions League this season would have been the overriding ambition for PSG's owners, winning all that there is to offer on the domestic stage is certainly not a bad consolation.
The Parisians can be pleased with their showing in European competition this season, having overcome Chelsea in dramatic fashion over two legs to reach the
quarter-finals, before falling short against Barcelona.
For a while even winning the league looked a worrying concern, as a highly entertaining title race began to mount in France. Things have become much clearer in recent weeks, however, and Blanc's men were able to wrap things up on that front by beating Montpellier HSC earlier this month.
That means a third year of domination in Ligue 1 for the capital side, which is pretty much the expectation these days. They have ramped things up another notch this time around, or at least they are on course to, by winning the Coupe de la Ligue and remaining in contention for this weekend's French Cup.
This is a competition that the Red and Blue have fallen short in recently, though, having failed to go all the way since 2010. Eight-time winners in all, PSG head into the match as strong favourites on the back of a six-match winning streak.
Domestically speaking, it is actually 11 games since the champions last slipped up. That run, largely speaking, is down to the attacking efficiency of this expensively-assembled side, with Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagging 37 league goals between them this term.
Transfer talk concerning PSG, and Manchester United outcast Angel di Maria in particular, will only continue to intensify over the coming weeks. Right now, however, all focus is on getting the job done at the Stade de France in order to achieve a piece of history.
Recent form in Coupe de France: LWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Auxerre
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While Paris Saint-Germain are currently in scintillating form, the same cannot be said for Auxerre, who enter the showdown without a win in their last seven games.
AJA hardly set the second tier of French football alight this season, either, having finished their campaign in ninth place, a full 26 points adrift of winners Troyes.
Auxerre, four-time winners of this competition, will be hoping that they can replicate their cup form rather than repeat recent league results, which has seen them go seven weeks without a three-point haul.
Jean-Luc Vannuchi's men last lifted the cup as recently as 2005, with that triumph against Sedan Ardennes their last major success. Two years before that, goals from Djibril Cisse and Jean-Alain Boumsong guided Auxerre to a memorable 2-1 triumph over PSG in the final.
History may be on their side, but it is fair to say that they have not been truly tested thus far on their run to the Stade de France. Wins over Strasbourg, Jura Sud, Le Poire-sur-Vie and Brest - the latter two of which came on penalties - has helped provide a nice path through to the showpiece final.
The second-tier side did beat the odds by knocking out holder Guingamp in the last round, though, courtesy of Frederic Sammaritano's strike which sent the 10 men through. It will not be enough to get Blanc all that worried, but AJA do certainly have the ability to cause another upset this Saturday.
Recent form in Coupe de France: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LDDDDL
Team News
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PSG will be without the suspended Javier Pastore for their final game of the season and, perhaps more worryingly, top-scorer Ibrahimovic - who sat out the final two Ligue 1 games - remains a doubt.
Even if the Sweden international misses out, Blanc will have plenty of other options, including both Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, although the latter of that duo is also a potential casualty.
Auxerre boss Vannuch actually named his starting lineup earlier this week, announcing that Cheick Diarra will start up top, while Amara Baby, Frederic Sammaritano and Gregory Berthier will offer support from midfield.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Douchez, Maxwell, Silva, Luiz, Aurier, Motta, Matuidi, Verratti, Cavani, Moura, Ibrahimovic
Auxerre starting lineup:
Leon, Djellabi, Fontaine, Puygrenier, Aguilar, Mulumba, Ait Ben Idir, Sammartitano, Baby, Berthier, Diarra
Head To Head
There is nothing to separate these two sides across their past six meetings, with both winning two apiece stretching back to 2009.
The last encounter came back in April 2012, when the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps.
Of course, the most relevant clash from both perspectives was that Coupe de France final clash in 2003, which Auxuerre won 2-1. They will now be hoping that history repeats itself 12 years on.
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Auxerre
PSG ended their league campaign in style, scoring 31 goals in their last nine outings to blow away the chasing pack. Should they hit their top form, then there really will be only one winner this weekend. Auxerre, meanwhile, travel to the capital knowing that they require one of the competition's greatest upsets to prevail, which seems increasingly unlikely to happen this time around.
Daniel Lewis
