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Wednesday sees French giants Paris St. Germain back in action against third-tier Le Mans at the Ooredoo Training Center.
Paris St. Germain are expected to use the game as little more than an early warm-up for the 2021-22 season, while Le Mans will be hoping for a big upset.
Paris St. Germain vs Le Mans Head-to-Head
Paris St. Germain are expected to make another push at both the Ligue 1 title and the Champions League in the 2021-22 season, after their 2020-21 campaign ended in disappointing fashion.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost their league title to Lille, while they were eliminated from the Champions League by Manchester City.
PSG did win their final three games of the campaign, but it was scant consolation for what was essentially a season of failure.
They’ve already looked to strengthen their squad with a number of signings. However, many of their big names are unlikely to play here due to their involvement in Euro 2020 or the 2021 Copa America.
Meanwhile, Le Mans finished fourth in France’s third tier. They narrowly missed out on promotion to Ligue 2 after their controversial relegation when the 2019-20 campaign was curtailed due to COVID-19.
Despite their failure to regain their Ligue 2 status, Le Mans did finish the 2020-21 season strongly, ending with an unbeaten run of seven games.
The last time PSG faced off with Le Mans, they picked up a comfortable 1-4 victory in the 2019-20 edition of the Coupe de France. Le Mans last defeated PSG way back in 2010.
Paris St. Germain form guide: D-W-W-W-W
Le Mans form guide: W-W-W-D-W
Paris St. Germain vs Le Mans Team News
Paris St. Germain
Paris St. Germain obviously have a deep and impressive squad, and have already added to it this summer by bringing in Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi.
However, it’s unlikely that those new signings will play here. International stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will not be involved after their recent international tournaments.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Presnel Kimpembe, Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, Leandro Paredes, Georginio Wijnaldum, Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi, Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Pablo Sarabia
Suspended: None
Le Mans
At the time of writing, no injuries were reported in the Le Mans squad, meaning they should have a full strength squad to call upon here.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Paris St. Germain vs Le Mans Predicted XI
Paris St Germain predicted XI (4-3-3): Sergio Rico, Colin Dagba, Thilo Kehrer, Timothee Pembele, Mitchel Bakker, Ander Herrera, Xavi Simons, Rafinha, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Mauro Icardi, Julian Draxler
Le Mans predicted XI (4-4-2): Pierre Patron, Benjaloud Youssouf, Alexandre Vardin, Jeremy Choplin, Pierre Lemonnier, Durel Avounou, Ibrehima Coulibaly, Georges Gope-Fenepej, Maxime Bernauer, Billal Brahimi, Jean-Philippe Krasso
Paris St. Germain vs Le Mans Prediction
Despite PSG likely being without most of their big-name stars for this game, they should still have the squad strength to comfortably brush aside a third-tier opponent like Le Mans.
Expect Pochettino to play some of his younger talents here, and they may well look to make their mark in a game that could be a good opportunity for them.
Prediction: Paris St. Germain 3-0 Le Mans
