PSG and Saint-Etienne ready for French Cup final while COVID concerns linger

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PSG

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. PLAYERS TRAINING IN STADE DE FRANCE

2. FORWARD, KYLIAN MBAPPE

3. TRAINING UNDERWAY

4. NEYMAR JOGGING WITH TEAMMATES

5. PLAYERS JOGGING

6. COACH, THOMAS TUCHEL WALKING WEARING FACE MASK

7. VARIOUS OF TEAM JOGGING

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (FFF HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

8. TUCHEL, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE

9. (SOUNDBITE) (French) PSG COACH, THOMAS TUCHEL, SAYING:

"We are still experiencing a situation which requires us to be vigilant. It is clear there are more important stuff than soccer during this period. But for us, tomorrow it is an important game, it is the first match after a long break. We never experienced that before, none of the teams have already experienced such situation in the past. But I have the impression that we have been trained in the best way possible."

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

10. CAPTAIN, THIAGO SILVA STRETCHING ARMS

11. PLAYERS WARMING UP

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (FFF HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

12. (SOUNDBITE) (French) PSG CAPTAIN, THIAGO SILVA, SAYING:

"I think we had some time to train but it is not enough to be at the highest level. It is not an excuse for PSG nor Saint-Etienne. But it is a final, everyone is motivated to play the match. They (Saint Etienne) will do their best, we will respect them also, but we will try to do our job too."

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

13. DURING TRAINING

14. RONDO DRILL

15. GOALKEEPERS PASSING BALL AMONG THEMSELVES

16. GOALKEEPER, KEYLOR NAVAS PASSING BALL

17. INTERIOR OF STADIUM DURING TRAINING

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (FFF HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

18. (SOUNDBITE) (French) PSG CAPTAIN, THIAGO SILVA, SAYING:

"They (As Saint-Etienne) have won against Rennes during the semi-finals and now they deserve, of course, to be here. We have to respect that, but we have to think why last year we lost our match (final) and try to do our best to win the cup."

SAINT-ETIENNE

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL)

19. VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (FFF HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

20. CAPTAIN, LOIC PERRIN AND COACH, CLAUDE PUEL ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE

21. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAINT-ETIENNE CAPTAIN, LOIC PERRIN, SAYING:

"For me football is first and foremost a game and a show, so it means with supporters and stands full of people. Unfortunately, it is impossible today regarding the situation and we first have to give priority to the sanitary conditions. So, we adapt, we will adapt to the situation even if it will sound empty in the stadium."

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL)

22. INTERIOR OF STADIUM

23. BIG SCREEN WITH MATCH ADVERTISEMENT

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (FFF HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

24. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAINT-ETIENNE CAPTAIN, LOIC PERRIN, SAYING:

"I don't think it will be the best Saint-Etienne and the best PSG (tomorrow), because nothing can replace competition even if we wanted to train individually and with friendly matches. But to be at the top we must play various matches. But it is still a cup final and we never know before it happens the story of a game. So, we sill have for sure to be at more than one hundred per cent and we hope they will do less."

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

25. PUEL KNEELING

26. DURING TRAINING

27. GOALKEEPER, JESSY MOULIN DURING DRILL

28. GOALKEEPER TRAINING

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (JULY 23, 2020) (FFF HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

29. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SAINT-ETIENNE CAPTAIN, LOIC PERRIN, SAYING:

"At the end of this match, there is a magnificent cup to win, so, I hope we will cause a good surprise to hold it tomorrow."

30. PERRIN AND PUEL DURING NEWS CONFERENCE

STORY: Paris St Germain will resume their quest for the quadruple when they lock horns with St Etienne in the French Cup final on Friday (July 24) in the first professional match in the country following a four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The showpiece match will take place at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France in Paris and will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, with only 5,000 fans allowed to attend in line with government regulations to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

PSG are Ligue 1 champions and, with a League Cup final versus Lyon and a Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta coming up, victory on Friday would keep Thomas Tuchel's side in contention for an unprecedented quadruple.

PSG showed little rust preparing for their return to action, scoring 20 goals and conceding none in friendlies against Le Havre, Waasland-Beveren and Celtic, with their prolific strike partnership of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe looking in fine form.

The French champions, who have won the French Cup a record 12 times, have 16 wins in their last 18 games against St Etienne in all competitions which will bolster their confidence.

But Claude Puel's side can draw inspiration from Stade Rennes, who rallied from two goals down in last year's final to make it 2-2 before beating PSG in a penalty shootout.

St Etienne, who are looking to lay their hands on a seventh French Cup and first since 1977, will be without centre back William Saliba, who is set to return to Arsenal after the two clubs failed to agree terms for the 19-year-old to extend his loan spell.

The Greens were dealt another blow when their fans announced their intention to boycott the game in protest at the limit on spectators and health protocols put in place by the government.

PSG's Brazil defender Thiago Silva is chasing a fifth French Cup title that would put him in elite company alongside former PSG players Dominique Bathenay and Alain Roche plus ex-Lille defender Marceau Sommerlynck.

(Production: Emilie Delwarde, Clotaire Achi)