Paris Saint-Germain travel to Stade Francis-Le Ble to face Brest on Friday as they look to continue their smashing start in the new Ligue 1 season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side defeated Strasbourg 4-2 at the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 on Saturday, with strikes from Mauro Icardi, Julian Draxler, Pablo Sarabia, and an own goal from Ludovic Ajorque making it two wins on a bounce for the hosts.
Paris Saint-Germain will head into Friday’s game at Brest super confident and try making it three wins in as many Ligue 1 games.
Team News
Lionel Messi was presented in front of the jam-packed Parc des Princes, along with new signings Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi before the game against Strasbourg. Wijnaldum and Hakimi were involved on Saturday, with the latter playing 88 minutes before being replaced by Rafinha.
Ramos is currently out injured and will return in September. Lionel Messi and Donnarumma have started training and are in contention for the upcoming game.
Idrissa Gueye, who tested positive with Covid-19 at the end of July, missed the win over Strasbourg and remains doubtful against Brest. Juan Bernat has resumed team training after a nasty knee injury that has sidelined him since September 2020.
Predicted PSG Lineup vs Brest (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Keylor Navas started the game against Strasbourg and is likely to keep his place between the sticks in the upcoming fixture.
Defence
Achraf Hakimi has hit the ground running at PSG, bagging an assist in the season opener against Troyes. He will start at right-back in the PSG lineup. The likes of Thilo Kehrer, Presnel Kimpembe and Abdou Diallo will complete the backline and aim to keep a clean sheet at Brest.
Midfield
While Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe started the last game and did well, Pochettino could freshen up things in midfield by bringing in Danilo Pereira into the PSG lineup. The Portuguese international will sit deep and look to dictate the tempo of the game. Ander Herrera could take up the role on the left side of midfield. Georginio Wijnaldum will be the driving force in central midfield and look to make box-to-box runs.
Attack
Lionel Messi and Neymar are set to be available for Friday’s game, and having shown great signs of link up in training, the duo should walk into Pochettino’s attack.
With two goals in as many games, Mauro Icardi has started the new season in top form. However, he will have to be content with a place on the bench if Pochettino opts for Kylian Mbappe to lead the PSG lineup against Brest.
