Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier is set to be working with a ravaged defence for Sunday's Ligue 1 clash with Rennes at the Parc des Princes.

Presnel Kimpembe and Neymar are already confirmed to be missing the rest of the season, while all of Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos, Nordi Mukiele and Carlos Soler have presented fresh concerns to medical staff.

Ramos's calf problem will keep him out of this one, while none of Marquinhos, Hakimi, Soler or Mukiele should be available either, leaving Galtier with few options for rotation in the backline.

Gianluigi Donnarumma will start in goal as per usual, and a makeshift centre-back pairing of Danilo Pereira and El Chadaille Bitshiabu should protect the Italy number one.

Timothee Pembele can also look forward to another start at right-back as Nuno Mendes bombs down the left, while Soler's absence will only benefit Warren Zaire-Emery's hopes of another appearance from the off.

With Marco Verratti and Fabian Ruiz also likely to start in a midfield-heavy setup, Renato Sanches and Vitinha should go head-to-head for Soler's spot, and the latter is likely to win that battle given Sanches's continued fitness concerns.

Galtier also has the option of deploying Hugo Ekitike up front, but the Reims loanee remains a bit-part player even in the midst of PSG's injury crisis, so the two-man strikeforce should comprise Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe once more.

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup: Donnarumma; Pembele, Pereira, Bitshiabu, Mendes; Vitinha, Verratti, Zaire-Emery, Ruiz; Messi, Mbappe

Written by
Ben Knapton