PSG players celebrate a win over Olympique Marseille in Ligue 1. (Photo : Reuters)
Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain will continue their US tour with a friendly match versus Italian club ACF Fiorentina at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, July 21. This will be PSG's second game in the 2015 International Champions Cup as they were scheduled to face SL Benfica for their opening match on Saturday.
Prior to the start of this exhibition tournament, both teams are coming off 3-0 friendly victories of their own with different opponents.
Les Rouge-et-Bleu recently turned back a gritty challenge by Austrian team Wiener Sportklub on July 12 before coming to America, as per Bleacher Report.
Meanwhile, the Viola had more time to rest as the team defeated fellow Serie A squad AC Chievo Verona with the same score last May 31, via SkySports.
On paper, Laurent Blanc's roster is generally stronger than that of Paulo Sousa's. In terms of UEFA club rankings, PSG is the ninth seed while Fiorentina is at no. 32. The Parisians recent championship win in Ligue 1 also makes them the favorites in this match as opposed to the Gigliati's fourth place finish in the Serie A.
Prediction: A 3-1 romp by PSG over Fiorentina. The score may become closer if Blanc would not field in his strongest lineup, which is highly likely as some of his best players, such as Uruguay's Edinson Cavani and Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimović, are still out on vacation.
Paris Saint-Germain starting lineup (4-3-2-1 formation): Douchez; van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Silva, Luiz; Matuidi, Rabiot, Verratti; Bahebeck, Pastore; Lavezzi
Fiorentina starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Neto; Alonso, Rodriguez, Savic, Pasqual; Aquilani, Pizarro, Valero; Gilardino, Gomez, Ilicic
