Paris-Auxerre: the preview
Men's football•
Join us in looking ahead to Saturday's Ligue 1 encounter with Auxerre at the Parc des Princes (kick-off 9:05pm CEST).
Damien Mittereau
After a successful start to the league with a win over Lorient (1-0), Auxerre suffered three successive defeats: Nice (3-1), Nantes (1-0) and Monaco (1-2). But they returned to winning ways with a 1-0 home win over Toulouse last time out, despite playing more than 35 minutes with just 10 men.
Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first setback of the season in Marseille on Monday with a 1-0 defeat. But they have won three matches on the bounce at the Parc des Princes: Angers (1-0), Lens (2-0) and Atalanta (4-0) in the Champions League, and will be looking to ride that momentum to bounce back in the league.
2 – AJ Auxerre have two wins from their first five games of the top-flight season and claim a third in their opening six Ligue 1 games for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
35 – Paris have scored in each of their last 35 Ligue 1 home games, and will set a league record if they score against Auxerre.
85.3 – 85.3% of the Parisians' pressing in Ligue 1 this season is classed as "high intensity". No other team is over 80%.
Christophe Pelissier and his team could start in a 5-2-3 formation with Donovan Léon in goal. He will have Telli Siwe (20 ans) and Ivorian international Clément Akpa in front of him. Following his arrival from Watford, Chile international Francisco Sierralta could line up in a back three with Sinaly Diomandé still injured.
On the left, the explosive Fredrik Oppegård is suspended, which could see Gideon Mensah given a more advanced role than usual. On the opposite flank, Marvin Senaya is a doubt and the versatile Josué Casimir could feature instead. In the middle of the park, captain Elisha Owusu, who came through the youth academy at Lyon, is likely to be paired with France U21 international Kévin Danois.
Senegal international Assane Dioussé and the promising Rudy Matondo (17) could also be called upon. Up front, Lassine Sinayoko and Danny Namaso are first-choice in the wide positions. The Mali and Senegal internationals should start rather than Ibrahim Osman and Lasso Coulibaly.
Through the middle, former France U21 international Sékou Mara is in pole position to start. On loan from Strasbourg, the ex-Bordeaux and Southampton striker has established himself in attack.
The Parisians, who will celebrate Ousmane Dembélé's Ballon d'Or win at the game, know what to expect from their opponents.