Paris Saint-Germain will begin their bid for a 10th Ligue 1 title in 12 years when they welcome Lorient to Parc des Princes on the opening weekend of the season.
Following the departure of Christophe Galtier, Luis Enrique will take charge of his first competitive game as PSG manager on Saturday, while Regis Le Bris begins his second season at Lorient.
The managerial merry-go-round at Parc des Princes continued this summer as Christophe Galtier departed Paris Saint-Germain after just one season at the helm, despite guiding the club to yet another Ligue 1 title.
Following the tenures of Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique is PSG’s fifth permanent manager since 2018, and just like his predecessors, the former Spain and Barcelona boss will be expected to bring silverware to the French capital.
It is fair to say that 2022-23 was not a dominant campaign for Les Parisiens, as they finished a solitary point clear of second-placed Lens after losing seven of their 38 league matches, conceding 40 goals along the way.
To put things into perspective, Lens suffered just four defeats while conceding 29 goals last term, although Franck Haise’s side were unable to prevent the perennial champions from clinching a fifth title in six seasons.
With questions regarding the future of star players like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar continuing to circulate, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over Parc des Princes, but PSG are still expected to dominate Ligue 1 once again.
Having gained promotion to the French top flight back in 2019-20, Lorient have continued to go from strength to strength in Ligue 1, with Regis Le Bris leading the club to an impressive 10th-placed finish last season.
Following back-to-back 16th-placed finishes under former manager Christophe Pelissier, Les Merlus reached new heights under Le Bris in 2022-23, winning 15 of their 38 league matches to finish four points inside the top half.
Buoyed by last term’s achievements, Lorient kicked off their pre-season preparations with a four-game unbeaten streak, recording draws against Concarneau and Guingamp before claiming victories over Le Harve and Nantes.
Although Lorient suffered a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth in their final warm-up match – facing a barrage of 18 shots while failing to register a single attempt on target – the Brittany outfit will be hopeful of enjoying another successful campaign.
It is also worth remembering that Lorient claimed a 3-1 victory over PSG at Parc des Princes less than four months ago, courtesy of goals from Enzo Le Fee, Darlin Yongwa and Bamba Dieng, while Achraf Hakimi was sent off.
Paris Saint-Germain form (all competitions):
It has been confirmed that Kylian Mbappe will not feature for PSG this weekend as the club’s all-time leading goal scorer continues his contract stand-off, while Neymar is also expected to miss Saturday’s clash.
In terms of injuries, Nuno Mendes (muscle), Nordi Mukiele (muscle) and Sergio Rico (head) remain sidelined for the hosts, while Layvin Kurzawa is a doubt after missing the majority of the previous campaign.
Following the departure of Lionel Messi, PSG have made several high-profile signings this summer, including Manuel Ugarte, Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar and Marco Asensio, with Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos joining on loan.
Lorient have also been busy in the transfer market of late, bringing in Benjamin Mendy, Formose Mendy, Aiyegun Tosin and Dembo Sylla to replace Terem Moffi, Enzo Le Fee, Moritz Jenz and Teddy Bartouche.
Midfielder Quentin Boisgard will miss the trip to Paris due to injury, while Loris Mouyokolo is a doubt for the opening game as the 22-year-old defender continues to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe; Hernandez; Soler, Ugarte, Verratti; Asensio, Ekitike; Lee
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Kalulu, Laporte, Meite, Talbi, Le Goff; Faivre, Makengo, Abergel, Le Bris; Dieng
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Lorient
Having tasted victory at Parc des Princes back in April, Lorient will fancy their chances of frustrating PSG once again, although very few teams record back-to-back wins against the perennial Ligue 1 champions.
With that in mind, we expect Les Parisiens to exact revenge on Les Murles by securing a relatively straightforward victory in Enrique’s first competitive match as PSG manager.
