Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 7y

PSG boss Unai Emery left hoping for miracle in Ligue 1 title race

PARIS -- Unai Emery has admitted that Paris Saint-Germain's chances of defending their Ligue 1 title for a fourth consecutive season are slim ahead of Sunday's trip to St Etienne.

Monaco lead PSG by three points and have a game in hand, and the capital club finish their season next week with a home game against Caen.

"This is a very important match," the Spaniard told journalists at his prematch news conference Camp des Loges on Saturday. "Our chances of winning Ligue 1 are low but they do still exist.

"If we can win against St Etienne, we can continue to hope and it is essential to maintain this hope.

"It is also important, in my eyes, to maintain a certain regularity in order to progress. This will come with a good performance in St Etienne at a stadium that will almost certainly be full. I am looking forward to a good tussle."

Emery believes that the performances of Monaco and Nice has improved Ligue 1 this season, and expects other clubs to come into contention next term.

"Competition in Ligue 1 is very positive in terms of the evolution of French football," Emery said. "I think that as well as Monaco and Nice, clubs like Marseille or Lille, with [Marcelo] Bielsa arriving, will make the competition even stronger next season. This will enable us to grow, particularly on the continental scene."

Emery still had praise for defender Marquinhos after he scored three goals in as many matches across Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.

"Marquinhos is a young player who has made a lot of progress since he joined the club," Emery added. "This season he has been handed greater responsibilities. This is part of his development. This has enabled him to grow as a player.

"He has gained experience and that is positive for him but also for the club -- I think that he has a great future ahead of him here."

In terms of squad news, Emery confirmed that Layvin Kurzawa -- who is out for the rest of the season after midweek surgery -- Grzgorz Krychowiak, Javier Pastore, Hatem Ben Arfa, Jean-Kevin Augustin, Thiago Motta and Angel Di Maria will all be missing at St Etienne.

Consequently, the 45-year-old coach has drafted in Gaetan Robail and Lorenzo Callegari.

"We have called up 19 players for the trip to St Etienne," Emery said. "Layvin, Grzegorz, Javier, Hatem and Jean-Kevin are out for medical reasons. Thiago and Angel are suspended. Because of this, I have called up two players from the reserves -- Gaetan and Lorenzo."

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