Seeking to bounce back from their midweek Champions League defeat, Paris Saint-Germain travel to Stade Auguste-Delaune II to face Reims in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Just two positions and four points separate these two teams in the top-flight table, with the reigning champions currently sitting in second place and the hosts not too far behind in fourth spot.
Match preview
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Since suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Monaco a month ago, Reims have picked up seven points from their last three Ligue 1 games, with a 1-1 draw against Toulouse followed by back-to-back 1-0 victories over Lorient and Nantes.
In the absence of suspended head coach Will Still, younger brother and assistant coach Nicolas Still successfully steered Les Rouges et Blancs to a slender success over Nantes last weekend, with Junya Ito scoring the decisive goal in the 75th minute – his first goal since the opening weekend of the season against Marseille.
Reims have accumulated 20 points from their first 11 Ligue 1 matches, winning six times in the process to make their best start to a top-flight season since the 1974-75 campaign.
After finishing 11th in the table last season, Still's side are currently positioned in the top four this term, but they have a battle on their hands to remain in the European places as three of their next four fixtures are against teams who finished in the top four in 2022-23.
Before preparing for encounters with Lens and Rennes after the international break, Reims will test their mettle against a PSG outfit whom they have failed to beat in each of their last seven meetings, although they played out two draws with the French champions last season, including a goalless stalemate on home soil in October last year.
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PSG entered Tuesday's Champions League contest with AC Milan at San Siro in buoyant mood after winning each of their previous five matches and scoring three goals on each occasion, including a 3-0 success over the Italian side at the end of last month.
However, Milan got their revenge on home soil as Rafael Leao cancelled out Milan Skriniar's opener before Olivier Giroud completed the comeback five minutes after the break to condemn the French giants to their second defeat in Group F.
Luis Enrique's side still have work to do to progress from the 'Group of Death' as they currently sit second with six points, one point behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, while Milan have moved up to third with five points, one more than Newcastle who play PSG next on matchday five in a few weeks' time.
PSG also sit second in Ligue 1 after winning seven of their first 11 matches, and before taking on Reims, they could find themselves four points adrift of table-toppers Nice if they were to beat Montpellier on Friday night.
Despite dropping two points in their last visit to Stade Auguste-Delaune II, Les Parisiens will fancy their chances of success on Saturday as they boast a 12-game unbeaten away run in Ligue 1, winning nine times and scoring 26 goals in the process.
Team News
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Reims duo Keito Nakamura and Valentin Atangana are both ruled out with ankle injuries, while Azor Matusiwa and Valentin Atangana Edoa are also on the sidelines with groin problems.
After keeping back-to-back clean sheets, Still could stick with a three-man defence of Emmanuel Agbadou, Joseph Okumu and Yunis Abdelhamid, with Manchester City loanee Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Thomas Foket operating as wing-backs.
Malta international Teddy Teuma is Reims' top scorer so far this season with four goals, and the 30-year-old is expected to continue in the number 10 role behind Ito and either Oumar Diakite or Mohamed Daramy.
As for PSG, they will be without Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Sergio Rico (head trauma), Nuno Mendes, Danilo Pereira (both hamstring), Marco Asensio (foot) and Keylor Navas (back) due to injury, although the latter three could return at some stage later this month.
The visitors will also have to cope without Randal Kolo Muani and Achraf Hakimi as both players have been handed a one-match suspension by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) for offensive chanting in the 4-0 win over Marseille last month.
Ousmane Dembele and Layvin Kurzawa were involved in the same incident and have had their punishment handed down by the LFP, meaning that they will be serve a one-game ban the next time they receive a yellow card.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, Fabian Ruiz, Lee Kang-In and Warren Zaire-Emery - the latter of whom recently received his first senior call-up to the France squad - are all one booking away from a suspension ahead of next week's clash with Monaco, but all four players are expected to be involved against Reims.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Abdelhamid, Okumu, Agbadou; Foket, Richardson, Munetsi, Wilson-Esbrand; Teuma; Ito, Daramy
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Mukiele, Marquinhos, Skriniar, L. Hernandez; Ugarte, Zaire-Emery, Lee; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe
We say: Reims 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Reims will not be taken lightly by PSG considering their recent form and previous meetings with the French champions both home and away last season. However, the visitors will still be regarded as favourites on Saturday and should ultimately have enough quality in their side to claim maximum points.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
