After last Sunday's 2-1 defeat away at Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory away at AS Saint-Etienne to reach the semifinals of the Coupe de France on Wednesday.
Laurent Blanc's men still need to bounce back from the loss at Parc OL in Le Championnat, but a cup victory gets them immediately back into a winning mindset. A resurgent Montpellier HSC are the visitors to Parc des Princes on Saturday and are no walkovers under new coach Frederic Hantz.
The French titleholders' UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg against Chelsea will take place next Wednesday at Stamford Bridge, so La Paillade provide Les Parisiens with their final test before they travel to London to seek their place in a fourth consecutive continental quarterfinal.
However, PSG's preparations for Guus Hiddink's men have been far from ideal. Marco Verratti has been struggling with an injury picked up in the 4-1 win over Stade de Reims for a few weeks now, while Blaise Matuidi came off against Saint-Etienne with a knock and is now in a race against time.
Angel Di Maria is back in the squad for the visit of Montpellier, and Blanc has confirmed that he will start Saturday's encounter -- the Argentina international was missing for the Lyon defeat and the away at Les Verts -- but that will not mask PSG concerns over Verratti and Matuidi.
If the runaway Ligue 1 leaders were to lose just one of those two for the Chelsea encounter, then it would be a huge -- though not fatal -- blow. To be deprived of both in southwest London, however, could have potentially catastrophic consequences.
Verratti and Matuidi are two of three established elements in the French giants' midfield. Being without the Italian or the Frenchman would be hugely destabilising -- and even being without the pair for the visit of Montpellier as final checks are made before departing for Chelsea is not ideal.
However, if resting the star pair for the visit of the 2012 champions means that they will make it for next week's mammoth European showdown, then Blanc and the PSG supporters will grudgingly accept that.
Di Maria's return to action against Montpellier is likely to coincide with one or two other key figures being rested. Star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic will probably be preserved, as will former Chelsea player David Luiz and Italian veteran Thiago Motta -- although all three are in the squad.
Gregory van der Wiel will almost certainly start at right-back, with Marquinhos partnering captain Thiago Silva or youth academy graduate Presnel Kimpembe at the heart of the defence. A late knock to Layvin Kurzawa in Saint-Etienne could mean that Maxwell has to start at left-back.
With Blanc likely to be without his entire first-choice midfield, Benjamin Stambouli, Adrien Rabiot and Javier Pastore could all feature. Otherwise, Di Maria could start in midfield with Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura and Jean-Kevin Augustin expected to form the front three.
Although PSG are expected to bounce back from their Lyon loss with a win over Montpellier, it will not be a walk in the park on Saturday. Since Hantz took over in late January, La Paillade have won four of their six matches in Ligue 1 and they are suddenly scoring goals as they move closer to mid-table.
If the capital club can apply themselves fully, then they should beat the men from Languedoc-Roussillon. However, as the Lille OSC stalemate just before the Chelsea first leg showed, Les Parisiens might well not show up at all if their minds are already on another match.
The recent rest before the Lyon defeat actually did PSG little good, and it made them more complacent.
Following up Wednesday's win over Saint-Etienne with another game in quick succession should be more conducive to a win for the hosts. However, Chelsea will not be far from everyone's minds at Parc des Princes on Saturday.
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