Luis Enrique immediately dismissed the idea of a rematch. At a time when PSG finds OM who beat them in Ligue 1 on September 22 (1-0), the Spanish coach sees it as “another competition”, “a final” approached by the European champion with the same ambition as those he has become accustomed to winning in recent months.
For the Champions Trophy which will be played this Thursday at 7 p.m. (French time), in Kuwait City, Paris should present itself with its typical team. “We had a good rest during the Christmas holidays, we should see more or less the real PSG team tomorrow,” warned Enrique.
It must be said that we weren’t expecting any surprises. When Matvey Safonov still suffers from his left hand, Lucas Chevalier will keep the Parisian cage. In defense, we will find from right to left Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho and Nuno Mendes. In midfield, Neves, Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz are expected, behind a three-headed attack made up of Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Barcola on the bench?
The Georgian is, in fact, expected to find his place in the starting lineup. Preserved against Paris FC (2-1) on Sunday, after suffering a knock in training, Kvara presented himself without apparent discomfort during the last session organized at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International stadium.
As usual, Luis Enrique did not take the opportunity to set up and therefore did not reveal anything about his intentions on a tactical level. The players performed ball retention exercises, crosses and shots on goal.
If Kvaratskhelia was the starter, he would then be preferred to Bradley Barcola who is also applying to start the match. Note that according to the figures announced by the Professional Football League (LFP), the stands should be full, since 52,000 places have already found takers out of the 55,000 available.
The probable composition: Chevalier – Zaïre-Emery, Marquinhos (cap.), Pacho, Mendes – Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz – Doué, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia