16.01.2015 02:30 h

Blanc feeling the pressure at misfiring PSG

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc will be feeling the pressure this weekend as his stuttering side host minnows Evian in Ligue 1 action on Sunday.

After a slow start to the season, including six draws from their opening nine matches, they had appeared to be hitting their straps by early December after a run of nine straight wins in all competitions.

But they lost their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 Champions League reverse away to Barcelona and followed that up with a 1-0 defeat at Guingamp in the league four days later.

Victory in that latter game would have seen the champions replace Marseille at the top of Ligue 1 but instead they have continued to falter, as indeed their main rivals have.

Both sides began the new year with a league defeat -- although PSG have made progress past Montpellier and Saint-Etienne in the Cup while Marseille fell to Guingamp -- allowing Lyon to take over top spot following a fifth straight win.

PSG come into this weekend's matches in fourth spot and four points behind Lyon as Saint-Etienne also overtook them last weekend.

They last won a league match on December 6 and Blanc, who seems to be under pressure even when his side is winning, has been widely criticised in the press this week.

Popular sports daily newspaper l'Equipe described him as "isolated and fragile" ahead of a morale-boosting League Cup win over Saint-Etienne in midweek.

Blanc has yet to decide whether to bring South American pair Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi in from the cold following their suspension from the first team since turning up late to a winter training camp in Marrakech.

Their return to the fold would certainly give PSG a boost in front of goal where they had gone two scoreless games in the league before their humiliating 4-2 reverse at Bastia last weekend, having led 2-0.

Meanwhile, Lyon facy a trip to struggling Lens on Saturday hoping to maintain the momentum from a run of 10 wins and just one defeat in their last 12 league encounters.

Ligue 1 top scorer Alexandre Lacazette has been in fine form and scored a brace in last weekend's 3-0 win over Toulouse.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for a team languishing in 17th place after losing three of their opening four league matches, but president Jean-Michel Aulas is unsure of their ability to remain in the mix.

"It's nice, even though I know it will only be short-lived, and due in part to the poor performances from our opponents," he said.

"Having said that, when we get up the next day it's nice, but there's more chance that it won't last than the opposite."

That's not a view shared by former coach Remi Garde who told l'Equipe: "they can fight for the title this year."

Although he qualified that by adding: "I'm more surprised by PSG's season than by Lyon's progression."

Marseille lost the league lead last week when going down 2-1 at Montpellier but will look for a quick revenge against Guingamp, their cup conquerors the week before, at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.

Saint-Etienne, meanwhile, face a tough trip to Brittany to take on Rennes.

In other news, French international winger Hatem ben Arfa was denied the opportunity to make his debut for Nice at Bordeaux on Friday night as uncertainty remains over his availability.

According to FIFA rules he cannot play for anyone else this season having turned out for Hull City in the English Premier League and a Newcastle United under-21 match already this campaign.

Nice are appealing to the French Football Federation, though.

Fixtures (all times GMT):