PSG is already switching back to Champions League mode. The day after its draw in Reims (0-0), the Parisian club trained this Sunday morning in order to prepare for the reception of Benfica, this Tuesday, less than a week after being held in check on the lawn of the Portuguese (1-1). Returning in the night, the Parisian players were treated to a light session, while some of them had already started a recovery process on the way back.
The great uncertainty at the level of the eleven aligned by Christophe Galtier is on the side of Lionel Messi. Victim of a small calf contracture in the first leg and absent on Saturday, the Argentinian was to resume racing this Sunday before returning to training on Monday. The Parisian staff was resolutely reassuring about his state of health and the chances of finding Messi in the group, whose feelings are good, exist. The rest of the team should have no other surprises, except for the start of Juan Bernat who will replace Nuno Mendes, injured in the hamstring, in the left lane of the defense.
Change of system against OM?
The Parisian rearguard will, however, experience some changes when they host Olympique de Marseille on Sunday 16 October. The expulsion of Sergio Ramos in Reims will indeed force Christophe Galtier to make adjustments. The most logical option would be to start Nordi Mukiele alongside Marquinhos and Danilo Pereira in the usual scheme used since the start of the season.
But the question of a change of system arises given the small number of defenders available to the coach. The absence of Ramos combined with the injuries of Nuno Mendes and Presnel Kimpembe, still in the rehabilitation phase, mean that the young El Chadaille Bitshiabu (17) would be the only professional defender to take a seat on the bench if Galtier kept his organization at five against OM. A move to four defenders would allow the Parisian technician to blow up certain elements in an already very busy playing sector.