Make history, a little more, and plant your flag, right up there, right next to the sun. PSG will have no other ambition this Wednesday (6 p.m.) than to etch its name a little more in stone this Wednesday on the lawn of the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium at Al-Rayyan in Doha (Qatar) against the Brazilians of Flamengo, winners of the Copa Libertadores, whom the reigning European champion will try to deprive of the Intercontinental Cup.
The first French club authorized to run for a crown reserved for the elite of the football planet, Paris would reach a new level if it managed to win what would be its sixth trophy of the year, after the three domestic (L1, Coupe de France, Champions Trophy) and the two international (Champions League, European Super Cup) which it has already won.
To achieve this, Luis Enrique knows he can count on almost all of his troops. After taking a three-match break following a severe ankle injury in Monaco, Lucas Chevalier should regain his place in the Paris cage.
“Marquinhos is ready”
In front of him, Achraf Hakimi will not be there, he who has started his last phase of recovery on the side of Morocco, where the Atlas Lions will open the CAN next Sunday against the Comoros. But Warren Zaire-Emery, who became a specialist in the position in his absence, will be present again to occupy the right lane, just like Nuno Mendes will be on the left flank. In the middle, if Pacho seems certain to go, it remains to be seen whether Marquinhos, victim of hip discomfort last week, will be able to accompany him.
“There is one last training session left but he is ready,” assured Luis Enrique just before his team took to the Qatari pitch on Monday evening. If he was not fit, the Brazilian captain would then be replaced by the Ukrainian Zabarnyi.
In the midfield, the Asturian coach should logically call on his musketeers Neves – Vitinha – Ruiz, these three being a guarantee of balance in the Parisian structure.
Dembélé on the bench?
In attack, if Ibrahim Mbaye scored many points on Saturday in Metz (2-3), where he was even elected man of the match, this should not be enough to dislodge Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from a starting place on the right and left sides. It remains to be seen who will accompany them up front.
Weighed down by a virus last week, Ousmane Dembélé is certainly back on his feet. But the one who received “The Best” Trophy for best player of the year this Tuesday evening in Doha could nevertheless see himself preferring Désiré Doué. After getting back into rhythm during the 30 and 45 minutes that were offered to him during the last two Parisian outings in Bilbao and Metz, the Golden-Boy appears in fact more energetic than his partner to begin a meeting promised to be a high degree of intensity.
