Mourning their dreams of Champions League supremacy, Paris Saint-Germain continue their canter towards the Ligue 1 finish line when Toulouse arrive at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Les Parisiens have already wrapped up their third-straight title, while their opponents sit comfortably in mid-table and are also enjoying a stress-free cruise to the end of the campaign.
Match preview
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German lightning struck twice for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final with Borussia Dortmund, as after being made to pay for wasted opportunities in a 1-0 first-leg defeat, an identical story on Tuesday prolonged their excruciating wait for European glory.
As Luis Enrique's men fired 30 shots on the Dortmund goal and struck the woodwork on four occasions - both of which are the most on record in a Champions League knockout match without scoring - BVB veteran Mats Hummels rose highest from a corner to double the visitors' aggregate advantage and set up a tantalising final with Real Madrid.
Failure to guide Les Parisiens to Champions League glory is normally the final nail in managers' coffins, but Nasser Al-Khelaifi responded defiantly to claims that Enrique's days in the PSG hotseat could be numbered, and the ex-Barcelona boss will continue at the helm for 2024-25 as the hosts' transitional period ramps up.
However, Sunday's match will mark the final time that Kylian Mbappe steps foot onto the Parc des Princes turf as a PSG player, and a farewell ceremony has apparently been planned for the Real Madrid-bound attacker, who was not included in the champions' kit launch for the new season.
Emotions must be switched off for 90 minutes as PSG endeavour to snap a three-game winless sequence, though, and Enrique's troops have played out four draws from their last five Ligue 1 contests at the Parc des Princes and have gone 10 top-flight home games without a clean sheet, one shy of their all-time record set in 1979.
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Montpellier HSC were the last Ligue 1 side to draw a blank at the champions' fortress on November 3, but La Paillade were coincidentally the team to put Sunday's visitors Toulouse to the sword last weekend, where a Teji Savanier special set Michel Der Zakarian's men on their way.
Toulouse needed just seven minutes to restore parity through talisman Thijs Dallinga, who headed in his 13th goal of the top-flight season, but a late Khalil Fayad intervention ensured that Les Violets' unbeaten streak would be snapped at five games.
However, having taken 11 points from the previous 15 on offer before falling short against Montpellier, Carles Martinez's men are safely marooned in mid-table in 12th place, safe from the threat of demotion and still in with a shot of forcing their way into the top half in their closing two fixtures.
A second-half surge is to thank for Les Violets' respectable predicament, as they have averaged 1.73 points per game in 2024 compared to just 0.82 for the first half of the campaign, while each of their last three on the road against Clermont, Rennes and Lorient has also ended in victory.
August's Ligue 1 battle between PSG and Toulouse also saw Les Violets glean a praiseworthy 1-1 draw, but Enrique's men prevailed 2-0 in January's Trophee des Champions (French Super Cup) showdown to stretch their unbeaten run against their visitors to 10 games in all competitions, and not since 2008 have PSG fallen short at home to the current Coupe de France holders.
Team News
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The first leg of PSG and Dortmund's Champions League scrap saw the luckless Lucas Hernandez suffer a cruel ACL injury, one which has ruled him out for the rest of the season and crushed his dreams of representing France at Euro 2024.
Sergio Rico (head), Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles) and Layvin Kurzawa (back) are keeping Hernandez company in the PSG infirmary, but Enrique has no fresh concerns from Tuesday's reverse and should consider a few alterations across the board; Manuel Ugarte and Bradley Barcola are both prime candidates for promotion from the bench.
Mbappe has seldom completed the full 90 minutes since informing PSG of his exit decision, and the Frenchman will likely be taken off early here to soak up a standing ovation from the crowd, but he should certainly continue in the first XI for his final home appearance.
Toulouse's loss to Montpellier last weekend saw both sides end the contest with 10 men on the pitch, as Savanier and Violets defender Rasmus Nicolaisen both saw red; the latter will serve a one-game ban here for those two bookable offences.
However, Nicolaisen should be the only absentee for a Toulouse side whose medical room is empty at this juncture, and 20-year-old Kevin Keben will likely be a straight swap for his banned teammate at the back.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Mendes; Lee, Ugarte, Zaire-Emery; Asensio, Mbappe, Barcola
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Restes; Desler, Keben, Costa, Diarra; Schmidt, Casseres Jr, Sierro; Aboukhlal, Dallinga, Gboho
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Toulouse
Neither PSG nor Toulouse need over-exert themselves in a match where only pride is on the line, but Enrique's men are still searching for the formula for defensive success at home, while Les Violets have made a habit of shining on the road of late.
Martinez's men are actually the second-best performing Ligue 1 team away from home in 2024 behind PSG, but Nicolaisen's ban is a significant blow, and on this occasion, we have faith in Les Parisiens to finally put some of their chances away en route to a recovery win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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