Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Paris Saint-Germain will aim to get back to winning ways on Saturday when the defending champions host Montpellier at the Parc des Princes.
The capital club had been on a fantastic run of form, having not lost a match in any competition through a 2-1 win over Nantes on Dec. 6. But the club then suffered its first defeat of the season with a 3-1 setback against Barcelona.
The loss meant little to Les Parisiens as they had already clinched a spot in the round of 16, but then the club followed up the defeat with a loss to surging Guingamp on the road the following week.
PSG fell behind against Guingamp after just 11 minutes when Jeremy Pied fired home off a nice assist from Younousse Sankhare to put the home side in front.
PSG failed to find an equalizer and fell to its first defeat of the league season to remain one point behind leaders Marseille with 37 points.
"Against Guingamp we lacked the necessary team spirit to hope to get a good result. Like against Lille we gave far too much away to our opponents, especially defensively," said PSG head coach Laurent Blanc. "If we want to go a long way and reach the very ambitious goals that the club has set, we need to improve in this department. The entire squad needs to be focused and determined, if you want to avoid conceding goals."
PSG were also drawn against Premier League side Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League, which will provide a significant challenge as the Blues knocked PSG out of the tournament last season in the quarterfinals.
"In finishing second in the group, we had very little chance of being drawn against an average side. We will know after these two matches whether or not it's a good draw," Blanc continued. "One things for sure: Chelsea are a great team. We haven't forgotten the quarter-final tie last year. Chelsea have been strengthened with new players this year. It will be a great tie. We have time to prepare, but we will be up against a very good side."
Montpellier, meanwhile, will try to extend its unbeaten run in league play to three following a 3-3 draw against Lens last time out.
Morgan Sanson and Lucas Barrios scored in the opening 16 minutes to spot Montpellier a 2-0 lead, but Pierrick Valdivia and Baptiste Guillaume netted for Lens to equalize in the 34th minute.
Anthony Mounier scored to hand Montpellier a 3-2 lead in the 63rd minute, but they failed to hold the lead as Yoann Touzghar netted the equalizer 10 minutes from time to force the clubs to share the points.
Also in Ligue 1 on Saturday, Caen hosts Bastia at the Stade Michel d'Ornano, while Lorient welcomes Nantes to the Stade du Moustoir. Metz hosts Monaco at the Stade Municipal, while Rennes battles Reims.
Saturday's final fixture sees surging Guingamp travel to the Stade Municipal de Toulouse to face Toulouse looking for a sixth straight win across all competitions.
On Sunday, Marseille hopes to bounce back from a loss to Monaco with three points against Lille, while Saint Etienne welcomes Evian to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Finally on Sunday, Bordeaux welcomes Lyon to the Stade Chaban-Delmas looking to snap a two-match slide across all competitions.
Friday's Ligue 1 action saw Wylan Cyprien and Adamo Coulibaly score to lift Lens to a 2-0 win over Nice.
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