Luis Enrique understood immediately. PSG manager since August 2023, he missed the next match after the first international break, a Paris-Nice match on 15 September 2023. Since then, the four breaks in the calendar dedicated to selection have been handled much better in the league, with four victories including one last March at the Vélodrome stadium against Marseille (0-2, 31 March 2024), or the last against Brest on 14 September at the Parc des Princes (3-1).
Against the Aiglons a year ago, the Asturian coach insisted on kick-off with fresh players, for example fielding the French substitutes during the friendly in Germany – Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Lucas Hernandez – and making a starter explode tricolor – Randal Kolo Muani. The Bondyn striker, who has just made his debut twice with the Blues (Israel, Belgium) with a brace at the Roi Baudoin (1-2), is warned and knows a priori what awaits him on Saturday against Strasbourg on the occasion of the 8th day (9pm) although it could substantially benefit from the upcoming calendar. Also in September 2023, Marquinhos and Manuel Ugarte, then a Parisian, returning late from South America, also watched the match from the bench.
No one was injured during the truce
The latest internationals, such as the Ecuadorian Willian Pacho, the South Korean Kang-In Lee, the Moroccan or Portuguese Vitinha, João Neves and Nuno Mendes, were due to return to the capital on Wednesday afternoon while their club had scheduled a session at 5pm. A priori, with no known disturbances, good news for Paris. They will have more hours of recovery from this defeat in the league, given that PSG-Nice was scheduled for Friday evening while Germany-France took place on Tuesday. Five days this time for the Blues compared to three days last year, which changes everything for the organizations. Above all, this is the second break at a time of the season when the physical condition of the players is much better, allowing them to continue more easily.
At the Poissy Campus, time must have seemed long to Marco Asensio, the only potential starter left here during this sequence of Nations League or qualifiers (World Cup, CAN). Not all those summoned were interviewed. Gianluigi Donnarumma and Vitinha played only one match out of two while Lucas Beraldo (Brazil), Warren Zaire-Emery (France), João Neves (Portugal) did not start in any of the two international matches scheduled. They need to be revived just like Asensio this Saturday, even if Paris can only start with fresh men. Luis Enrique will have to build a starting eleven against Strasbourg that takes into account all these data: the number of minutes played, how many kilometers from Paris (airplane time), how many matches of the season and the upcoming menu.
For the moment, Willian Pacho and Achraf Hakimi, with 747 and 714 minutes respectively, have been the most used in all competitions among outfield players compared to the 393 minutes of Fabian Ruiz, one of the pillars of the club’s last Ligue 1 season Paris. It’s a safe bet that the first two will fail this Saturday against Strasbourg because a week of three games is back on the calendar. After Ligue 1 this Saturday, PSG continues this Tuesday with the challenge of PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League and on Sunday with the trip to Marseille. Suffice it to say that the next two matches matter more than the arrival of the Alsatians even if they occupy a surprising 7th place in the league and remain with good results. So far they have lost only once in L 1, on August 30 in Lyon (4-3).
The probable composition against Strasbourg: Donnarumma – Zaïre-Emery, Marquinhos, Beraldo, Nuno Mendes – Ruiz, Neves, Kang-In Lee – Doué, Asensio, Kolo Muani.
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