Two sides yet to suffer defeat in the 2023-24 Ligue 1 campaign square off at the Parc des Princes on Friday night, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Nice to the capital.
Luis Enrique's crop demolished crisis club Lyon 4-1 before the international break, while Les Aiglons strolled past Strasbourg 2-0 for their first victory of the campaign.
Match preview
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While the Lyon ultras' astonishing dressing-down of their own players understandably made all the post-match headlines, PSG travelled back to base having quietly gone about their business at the Groupama Stadium, scoring four times during a scintillating first-half display.
Kylian Mbappe's brace, Achraf Hakimi's tap-in and Marco Asensio's finish killed the game off before the half-time whistle blew, and while Corentin Tolisso did salvage a consolation from the penalty spot, a miraculous comeback was never on the cards for Les Gones.
Back-to-back draws with Lorient and Toulouse represented a mediocre start to life for Enrique in the hotseat, but with seven goals scored across their last two fixtures versus basement battlers Lens and Lyon, PSG have belatedly ignited their pursuit of a third consecutive Ligue 1 crown.
However, their tally of eight points from a possible 12 is only good enough for second place in the table behind early pace-setters Monaco, whose tally of 13 goals also makes them the only side to better PSG's eight strikes, although Reims, Rennes and Le Havre can all match that tally too.
The champions' thumping of Lyon just before the international break was only their second win from their last six Ligue 1 contests, though, while a run of three victories from their last eight Parc des Princes contests is an unsightly record ahead of their Champions League opener versus Borussia Dortmund, not to mention the first Classique of the season against Marseille in gameweek six too.
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As was the case with their upcoming hosts, Nice also commenced their 2023-24 campaign in solid yet unspectacular style, taking three points from their opening trio of games versus Lille, Lorient and Lyon before making it fourth time lucky when Strasbourg game to town.
A sweetly-struck opener from Youcef Atal - who cut inside before finding the far corner with his left foot - broke the deadlock just before half time at the Allianz Riviera, and with 15 minutes remaining, Terem Moffi, who had earlier struck the post with a delicate dink, rectified that miss with a successful chip to put the result beyond any doubt.
Francesco Farioli's side left a lot to be desired in pre-season, but as one of five teams still with their unbeaten records intact, Les Aiglons occupy a respectable seventh place in the embryonic standings as their continental charge gathers pace.
Nice's success over Strasbourg also saw Farioli's men earn a slice of revenge for a 2-0 loss to Les Coureurs back in May - which represents their only defeat from their last 10 contests in Ligue 1 - and the visitors have also suffered just five top-flight beatings on the road since the start of last term.
However, one of those losses came on the Parc des Princes turf, as PSG scraped a 2-1 victory over Les Aiglons last October before coming away from the Allianz Riviera with a 2-0 triumph to their name in April, although Nice did get the better of the champions in the capital as recently as January 2022, winning a last-16 Coupe de France tie on penalties.
Team News
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With a host of PSG's international stars turning out for their countries during the international break, careful assessments will need to be undertaken by Enrique and his medical team, who have been handed a concern with Mbappe after the attacker sat out Les Bleus' friendly loss to Germany with a knee problem.
Mbappe was able to train normally this week, but Enrique may also avoid risking the likes of Marquinhos, Manuel Ugarte and Keylor Navas, all of whom must reacclimatise to French time zones after returning to their respective continents.
Lee Kang-in (muscle), Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Juan Bernat (muscle), Nuno Mendes (hamstring), Nordi Mukiele (hamstring), Sergio Rico (head), Fabian Ruiz (thigh) and Alexandre Letellier (knee) have also been taking up beds in the infirmary, while Asensio - who has two goals and an assist to show from his first three Ligue 1 matches - sustained an apparent muscular problem in Spain's recent clash with Georgia and is facing a few weeks out.
Portugal marksman Goncalo Ramos and new signing Randal Kolo Muani could therefore battle to start at the tip of the attack, while long-serving midfielder Marco Verratti has completed a move to Qatari side Al Arabi.
Meanwhile, Nice lost regular left-back Melvin Bard to injury 13 minutes before the end of their victory over Strasbourg, so the door might be open for Southampton loanee Romain Perraud to make his first Ligue 1 start since May 2021, which coincidentally also came against PSG.
Much-admired midfielder Khephren Thuram is also dealing with a thigh problem and is uncertain for the trip to Paris, while Alexis Claude-Maurice (calf) and Antoine Mendy (knee) are also in the infirmary.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Pereira, Skriniar, Hernandez; Soler, Zaire-Emery, Vitinha; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Atal, Todibo, Dante, Perraud; Boudaoui, Ndayishimiye, Sanson; Laborde, Moffi, Diop
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Nice
With Mbappe not quite at 100% and several international players possibly being kept in reserve ahead of two blockbuster fixtures, Friday's showdown has the potential to be a particularly uncomfortable one for PSG.
Nice are seldom blown away on rival territory, and the rapid Moffi should ask several questions of Les Parisiens' permeable backline, but we still have faith in the champions to record a third win on the spin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
