As clubs from Europe prepare to return to their domestic competitions soon, Paris Saint-Germain will host a friendly with Paris FC at the Ooredoo Training Centre on Friday.
Before the season paused for the World Cup, PSG had won seven straight matches in all competitions, as they lead Ligue 1 at the moment with 41 points, while the team from the 13th arrondissement in the French capital have captured just one of their last three fixtures in Ligue 2, currently sitting 12th in the table.
Match preview
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The first season as manager of Les Parisiens has been smooth sailing for Christophe Galtier as his team are one of only two sides in the top five European leagues who have yet to suffer a domestic defeat in 2022-23.
Given the pedigree at his disposal, it should come as no surprise to see them dominating Ligue 1 once again, with PSG having gained more points after 15 league games this season than they had in any of their previous three campaigns.
They are unbeaten in their last 28 league fixtures at home, the best run in the top five European competitions, though they have conceded two or more goals in two of their previous three games played in Paris.
PSG have scored multiple goals in six consecutive matches in all competitions while only conceding nine domestically after 15 games, the fewest in Ligue 1 this season.
Heading into November, the last 25 goals scored by Les Parisiens had come from their big three of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar or Lionel Messi. However, since a 4-3 victory over Troyes, their last nine strikes have been scored by eight different players.
Since the start of 2022, PSG have shown no mercy to their opponents, scoring five or more goals on nine occasions in all competitions, the second-highest total among European clubs this year behind Bayern Munich, who have done it 10 times.
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A season removed from narrowly missing out on a promotion playoff, the 2022-23 Ligue 2 campaign has not been as smooth thus far for Thierry Laurey and his team.
There will be no playoffs in the second tier of French football this season, meaning the Blues have to finish in the top two, and they are a long way from there right now, eight points behind Bordeaux for second.
Paris find themselves in a precarious position in the league right now, only five points above the relegation line but with an opportunity to move well beyond that mark before the year is over, with their final two domestic fixtures of 2022 being against teams ahead of them in the table (Pau and Le Havre).
Perhaps playing at another venue in the French capital would change their fortunes, as they have not won a domestic encounter at Stade Charlety since squeaking past Quevilly-Rouen on August 6.
The five defeats that they have suffered to date in this campaign is only three fewer than they had in their entire 2021-22 season, while Paris are tied for the third-fewest goals scored domestically this year.
They may be a tier below PSG, but this team have fared well against clubs in the top flight, losing just one of their last five friendlies versus Ligue 1 opponents.
Team News
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Gianluigi Donnarumma picked up his ninth clean sheet of the campaign in PSG's final match before the World Cup, a 5-0 win over Auxerre, where Mbappe, Carlos Soler, Achraf Hakimi, Renato Sanches and Hugo Ekitike all found the back of the net.
Pablo Sarabia has scored in each of his previous two friendlies played for Les Parisiens in July while Keylor Navas and Sergio Rico each played a half in their 3-0 friendly victory versus Urawa Reds during that Japanese tour.
Fabian Ruiz could be out with some sore muscles, Danilo Pereira has a broken rib and Nuno Mendes is not expected back until early February because of a thigh injury.
Goals from Alimami Gory and Morgan Guilavogui helped Paris FC capture a 2-0 win over Cosne US in the Eighth Round of the French Cup as Vincent Demarconnay collected a clean sheet.
Guilavogui has scored in his last three matches in all competitions, Ivan Filipovic made two stops in their previous domestic road fixture, which they won 1-0 over Bastia.
At the same time, Samir Chergui will miss the following domestic fixture, and Kouadio-Yves Dabila is not available for their round of 64 French Cup clash having each incurred red cards the last time out in those respective competitions.
Jonathan Iglesias, Guilavogui, and Lebogang Phiri were the only players that began their match against Metz to keep their place in starting 11 in their eighth round French Cup tie.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Ramos, Bernat; Soler, Vitinha, Verratti, Mendes, Ruiz; Sarabia, Sanches, Ekitike
Paris FC possible starting lineup:
Filipovic; Bernauer, Chergui, Lefort, Hanin; Mandouki; Gory, Phiri, Iglesias, Kebbal; Guilavogui
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Paris FC
Paris FC will not have to face some of the top attacking players for Les Parisiens, but Galtier has a lot of other talented and eager individuals to call upon, so expect his reserves to be fresh and motivated for this encounter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
