Paris Saint-Germain will continue their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds on Saturday.
The French champions have beaten Quevilly and Kawasaki Frontale in their two friendlies this summer, and they will be taking on a team that are deep into their league season.
Match preview
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PSG opened their preparations for the new season with a 2-0 victory over Quevilly on July 15 before recording a 2-1 win over Kawasaki Frontale in their second friendly of the summer last time out.
Lionel Messi and Arnaud Kalimuendo-Muinga were on the scoresheet in the team's last fixture in Tokyo, and the Ligue 1 champions will now take on Urawa Reds and Gamba Osaka in their final two friendlies of the summer before facing Nantes in the Trophee des Champions on July 30.
The Paris giants will then begin their 2022-23 Ligue 1 season away to Clermont on August 6, and they will be bidding to win France's top flight for the 11th time, which would take them clear of Saint-Etienne when it comes to championships.
PSG again fell short in the Champions League last season, being eliminated in the round of 16, while they knocked out of the Coupe de France at the same stage, with Mauricio Pochettino losing his job as head coach.
Christophe Galtier's side recently confirmed the loan signing of Hugo Ekitike, while Vitinha and Nuno Mendes have arrived from Porto and Sporting Lisbon respectively this summer; the club's best business has been convincing Kylian Mbappe to sign a new deal, though, with the France international rejecting the chance to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
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Urawa Reds finished sixth in Japan's top flight last season, and they are deep into their 2022 campaign, currently sitting eighth in the table, boasting 29 points from their 22 matches.
The Reds will enter this contest off the back of a 2-1 victory over Shimizu S-Pulse on July 16, while they are unbeaten in their last five games, recording three wins in the process.
The Japanese outfit are now eight points behind third-placed Kawasaki Frontale in the J1 League, with just six victories from their first 22 games a disappointing return considering the quality in their squad.
Ricardo Rodriguez's side are next in league action against Kawasaki Frontale on July 30, so they will have a solid block of recovery time after this friendly, which will allow them to enter with a competitive mindset.
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Team News
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PSG boss Galtier is expected to select a similar starting XI to the one that took to the field last time out, with Mbappe, Messi and Neymar again likely to feature as the front three.
Pablo Sarabia could come into a midfield position for the French champions, but Vitinha and Idrissa Gueye should both retain their spots in the side.
Kalimuendo-Muinga came off the bench to score against Kawasaki Frontale and will be hoping for another chance to impress, while the likes of Juan Bernat, Danilo and Mauro Icardi could again feature off the bench.
As for Urawa Reds, head coach Rodriguez will make full use of his squad during the clash with PSG.
Yusuke Matsuo was on the scoresheet against Shimizu S-Pulse in the league last time out, and the 24-year-old is again expected to feature in the final third against the French giants.
David Moberg Karlsson and Takahiro Sekine are also likely to feature in the attacking areas for the Japanese side, but there will be wholesale changes throughout the contest.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Ramos, Marquinhos, Mendes; Gueye, Vitinha, Sarabia; Mbappe, Messi, Neymar
Urawa Red Diamonds possible starting lineup:
Nishikawa; Sakai, Scholz, Iwanami, Akimoto; Ito, Iwao; Moberg Karlsson, Koizumi, Sekine; Matuso
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds
Urawa Reds should provide competitive opposition for PSG considering that they are deep into their league season, which is what Galtier will want at this stage of pre-season. The French champions should have too much quality for their opponents, though, so we are tipping a comfortable victory for the Blues.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
