The Parc des Princes is the venue for the resumption of Ligue 1 football on Friday evening, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Monaco to the capital for an intriguing contest.
Luis Enrique's side rose to their rightful place at the summit of the rankings by defeating Reims 3-0 last time out, while Adi Hutter's troops were held to a 0-0 draw by Le Havre a fortnight ago.
Match preview
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Out to right a few wrongs after seeing their five-game winning streak come to an end in a 2-1 Champions League loss at AC Milan - their second defeat from two European away games this season - PSG turned to a familiar face to put Reims to the sword with consummate ease.
Amid talk of Real Madrid apparently ending their interest in Kylian Mbappe once and for all, the 24-year-old broke the deadlock with just three minutes gone courtesy of a sensational side-footed volley, before meeting a pair of Carlos Soler and Bradley Barcola cut-backs in the second half to complete a record-breaking hat-trick.
No other player can match Mbappe's eight Ligue 1 trebles in the current century - the World Cup winner was previously tied on seven with Zlatan Ibrahimovic - and by showing his former club what they are missing on Friday, Mbappe could help steer PSG further clear in first place.
After playing catch-up in the earliest weeks of Enrique's tenure, PSG now hold a one-point advantage over Nice and a three-point cushion over upcoming opponents Monaco at the top of the table, having reverted to type with five consecutive wins in the top flight, scoring three times in all of those encounters.
A five-game victorious streak already represents PSG's longest-such run in Ligue 1 in 2023, and they have coincidentally triumphed in each of their last five home matches in all tournaments without conceding a single goal, which makes for grim reading for the Monaco faithful after their side were quelled by one of the newly-promoted teams last time out.
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A fortnight on from being bested 2-0 on Lille's territory, Monaco's away-day deficiencies very nearly cost them dear during their meeting with Le Havre, who were awarded a dramatic penalty with no fewer than 10 minutes on the clock in second-half injury time.
Adi Hutter's men would seemingly be made to pay for their lack of killer instinct throughout the contest as Samuel Grandsir stepped up to the 12-yard mark, but the Le Havre attacker's tame effort was comfortably kept out by Philipp Kohn, who dived the right way and held onto the ball to ensure a slice of the spoils for his team.
Even a defeat would have had little impact on Les Monegasques' position in the rankings anyway, as Hutter's third-placed team hold a healthy four-point lead over Reims and will remain in the podium places no matter what transpires this weekend, while victory by at least five goals would see them dethrone PSG at the summit, as fanciful as that may be.
From scoring 12 goals in their first four Ligue 1 away games of the new term, Monaco have now drawn blanks in back-to-back matches on rival territory, although Kohn's last-gasp penalty save at Le Havre saw Les Monegasques keep their first clean sheet on the road since March.
Furthermore, no visiting team has scored more Ligue 1 goals at the Parc des Princes during PSG's Qatar Sports Investment era than Monaco - 13 in 10 matches - and Les Monegasques have navigated their last three meetings with the champions unbeaten, prevailing 3-1 at the Stade Louis II in February after a 1-1 draw in the capital in August 2022.
Team News
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PSG's 17-year-old wonderkid Warren Zaire-Emery made his senior France debut during the international break, but his dream Bleus baptism quickly became a nightmare, as he suffered a severe ankle injury while scoring in his nation's 14-0 decimation of Gibraltar.
The Ligue 1 champions have confirmed that Zaire-Emery will remain in the treatment room until the New Year, where Marco Asensio (foot), Nuno Mendes (hamstring), Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Danilo Pereira (hamstring), Sergio Rico (head trauma), Marquinhos (hamstring) and Keylor Navas (back) are keeping him company.
In addition, late returns from Asia and South America could also harm Manuel Ugarte and Lee Kang-in's chances of facing Monaco, but Enrique will be boosted by the returns of Achraf Hakimi and Randal Kolo Muani from suspension.
In contrast, Monaco have now lost a key fulcrum to a domestic ban in the shape of Manchester United-linked midfielder Youssouf Fofana; Mohamed Camara should fend off Eliot Matazo and Edan Diop to deputise for the France international.
Mohammed Salisu (groin), Caio Henrique (ACL), Myron Boadu (muscle) and Eliesse Ben Seghir (shoulder) make up a quartet of injury-related absentees for Hutter's team, who must also assess Folarin Balogun, Takumi Minamino and Guillermo Maripan in particular following their international exploits across the globe.
Balogun lost out to Wissam Ben Yedder for a start against Le Havre anyway, but after netting four goals in his opening three Ligue 1 matches of the new term, the latter has now scored just once in Monaco's last nine top-flight outings.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Mukiele, Skriniar, L. Hernandez; Ruiz, Vitinha, Soler; Dembele, Kolo Muani, Mbappe
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Singo, Magassa, Matsima; Vanderson, Camara, Zakaria, Jakobs; Akliouche, Golovin; Ben Yedder
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Monaco
With Ben Yedder struggling to replicate his early-season form and concerns over Balogun and Minamino's late arrivals back to the Principality, another joyless and scoreless outing on the road could await Monaco on Friday.
PSG's midfield certainly has a more depleted look to it, and the champions are not without their own international break-related concerns, but Les Parisiens have re-fortified the Parc des Princes and should extend their lead at the top with a professional performance.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
