PSG will start their journey without Neymar as they visit Toulouse in the Ligue 1. The hosts head into Saturday’s showdown on the back of a 2-1 victory over Nantes. PSG produced a goalless draw against Lorient last time out.
Preview (Toulouse vs PSG)
Toulouse began the Carles Martinez Novell era with a valiant away victory against Nantes on the first weekend. Philippe Montanier left during the offseason. Les Violets were down after Mostafa Mohamed’s 13th-minute penalty. Zakaria Aboukhlal’s goal leveled the score midway through the second half. Center-back Rasmus Nicolaisen’s goal in stoppage time gave them the victory. Funny enough, Toulouse overcame Nantes 5-1 to win the Coupe de France championship last year. The club’s 13th-place finish in Ligue 1 was not enough to retain Montanier in charge.
Carles Martinez Novell, a 39-year-old Spaniard who had been Montanier’s assistant since December 2022. He was given the top position last month despite having no prior managerial experience. Stadium de Toulouse recorded six wins, six draws, and seven losses on home turf in the league. It is no secret that Paris Saint-Germain has dealt with a lot of off-field controversies lately. The angst in the background certainly affected how well the team played on opening weekend.
Last time out, PSG was beaten to a scoreless draw by Lorient at Parc des Princes with star forward Kylian Mbappe watching from the stands and Neymar concluding a massive transfer to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Les Parisiens not only controlled 78% of the ball, but they also racked up 20 shots, depriving Lorient of a single effort on goal while giving PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma a peaceful evening in goal. The longtime winners fired manager Christophe Galtier after just one season and replaced him with Luis Enrique despite winning Ligue 1 last season, securing their ninth top-flight trophy in 11 years.
Team News
Ibrahim Cissoko, Junior Flemmings, Kevin Keben, Ado Onaiwu, Naatan Skytta, and Oliver Zanden are all scheduled to miss Saturday’s game for Toulouse due to injuries. Zakaria Aboukhlal and Gabriel Suazo will provide attacking support to Dutch striker Thijs Dallinga, who scored 18 goals in all competitions last season, while Martinez Novell is set to stick with his preferred 4-3-3 system. Juan Bernat, Presnel Kimpembe, Alexandre Letellier, Nuno Mendes, Nordi Mukiele, and Sergio Rico are all sidelined for this game.
A more upbeat development is that Kylian Mbappe, 24, has resumed first-team practice after resolving a contract disagreement with the team. However, it is unclear where Enrique would place the 24-year-old in his starting XI on Saturday. In PSG’s match against Lorient, Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Manuel Ugarte, Lee Kang-in, Goncalo Ramos, and Marco Asensio all made their professional debuts. Toulouse will probably find it difficult to stop PSG’s offensive potency.
Toulouse 1 – 3 PSG
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