In this season's Trophee des Champions, Paris Saint-Germain are set to clash with Ligue 1 rivals Monaco on Sunday at Stadium 974 in Doha.
In 2023-24, Les Parisiens won a league and cup double to qualify for the final, while Les Monegasques ended the season as runners-up in the top flight and will have a chance to deny their opponents a clean sweep of France's domestic trophies this weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
Luis Enrique's PSG won a record-extending 12th Trophee des Champions title last January when they beat Toulouse 2-0 at Parc des Princes, and this time around they will be looking to start 2025 strongly by making it 13 with victory in their first game of the year.
Having won their last four matches in all competitions before the winter break and losing just one since early November, Les Parisiens come into the Doha clash full of confidence.
Adding to this feeling will be the fact that Sunday's nominal home side are currently top of Ligue 1 - 10 points above Monaco - and earned a 4-2 away win against this weekend's opponents in their last league game of 2024.
In that match, striker Desire Doue gave Enrique's side the lead in the first half, but a penalty from Eliesse ben Seghir and a goal from Breel Embolo put the hosts in front.
However, a brace from Ousmane Dembele either side of Goncalo Ramos's header gave PSG all three points, as well as a psychological advantage ahead of the Trophee des Champions final.
© Imago
Meanwhile, Monaco have won the Trophee des Champions four times in their history, and a fifth title would take them level with Saint-Etienne and Reims as the club with the third-most wins in the competition.
That being said, Adi Hutter's side have won just one of their last four games in all competitions, and the boss will be hoping that winning silverware in their first match of 2025 can set them on the path for a positive year.
Before the winter break, Les Monegasques had won just one of their six games prior to beating amateur side Union Saint-Jean 4-1 on December 22 in the Coupe de France.
That result broke a three-game winless streak for this weekend's 'away' team, though the fact that they needed to face such a low-ranked side to earn a victory will certainly not do much to boost the confidence levels of Hutter's players.
In the manager's defence, Monaco have been dealing with an injury crisis this winter, and given they have seven players injured or suspended at the moment, fans may be understanding of the team's disappointing recent results.
At the turn of the year, Les Monegasques will be looking to make a fresh start and rediscover their early-season form that saw them go unbeaten across all competitions until late October, and a trophy along with a win over PSG would make for a great start.
Team News
© Imago
PSG boss Enrique will have a near-full squad to choose from, though doubts remain about the fitness of centre-back Presnel Kimpembe, who has been suffering with a lower leg injury.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is back in training after his horrific facial injury in the recent league game against this weekend's opponents, but it remains to be seen whether the manager will pick him to start straight away.
If he is placed on the bench, then expect Matvey Safonov to feature between the sticks, protected by Marquinhos and Willian Pacho.
As for Monaco, Hutter will be without a number of players including Wilfried Singo, who is suspended after picking up one too many yellow cards.
Elsewhere, midfielder Denis Zakaria is not expected back in action until later this month, though Edan Diop could return to the squad following a foot injury and Lamine Camara should be available after recovering from a minor issue he picked up in last month's loss against Les Parisiens.
Les Monegasques will also be missing right-back Christian Mawissa, goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki, winger Krepin Diatta, and striker Folarin Balogun, who has not featured since the start of December.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Dembele, Doue, Barcola
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Teze, Kehrer, Salisu, Vanderson; Magassa, Camara; Akilouche, Ben Seghir, Golovin; Embolo
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Monaco
PSG and Monaco are in contrasting form ahead of their Trophee de Champions clash, though the winter break may have given Hutter's side a chance to reset for the second part of the season.
However, when factoring in Les Monegasques' extensive injury list, it is difficult to see how they can avoid another defeat against Les Parisiens on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
