Ligue 1 basement dwellers Clermont will go in search of their first victory of the season when Paris Saint-Germain visit the Stade Gabriel-Montpied on Saturday.
With a solitary point to their name, Clermont find themselves rock bottom of the table, while PSG sit third after winning three of their last four matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
Clermont's season went from bad to worse as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Le Havre last weekend, conceding twice in the opening seven minutes to gift the hosts an ideal start at the Stade Oceane, with Cheick Oumar Konate pulling a goal back for the visitors.
Les Lanciers have now lost five of their six Ligue 1 matches this season, picking up one draw along the way, meaning that Pascal Gastien's men already find themselves five points inside the bottom three following a dismal start to the campaign.
To make matters worse, no team has conceded more Ligue 1 goals than Clermont's 12 this term, while only fellow strugglers Lyon have scored fewer goals than Clermont's five, so Gastien must improve his side at both ends of the pitch if they are to steer clear of relegation danger.
CF63 can take confidence from their last meeting with Paris Saint-Germain, as they claimed a rare 3-2 victory at the Parc des Princes on the final day of the previous campaign, although PSG won the reverse fixture 5-0 on the opening weekend of the 2022-23 season.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain secured a dominant 4-0 victory in Le Classique last weekend, thrashing arch-rivals Marseille in the capital, with first-half goals from Achraf Hakimi and Randal Kolo Muani preceding a second-half brace from Goncalo Ramos.
Not only did Luis Enrique's men enjoy 77% of the ball on home soil, but they also racked up 15 shots, preventing Marseille from registering a single attempt on target, although PSG's celebrations were dampened by a potential injury to star man Kylian Mbappe.
There is no hiding the fact that Les Parisiens made a below-par start to the season, recording back-to-back draws against Lorient and Toulouse to take two points from their opening two matches, but they have turned things around since then, claiming three victories in four outings.
Thanks to a 2-0 triumph over Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League opener, PSG have also won four of their last five encounters across all competitions, losing just one of their seven games this season, so Enrique will be pleased with his team's progress.
Team News
© Reuters
Clermont look set to be without the injured duo of Komnen Andric and Neto Borges this weekend, with the latter playing every second of the opening five matches before missing last weekend's defeat at Le Havre.
Shamar Nicholson and Muhammed Cham are expected to lead the attack in a 3-5-2 formation, while Alidu Seidu, Andy Pelmard and Maximiliano Caufriez should line up in a back three ahead of goalkeeper Mory Diaw.
There are question marks over the fitness of Mbappe, who limped off during the first half of last weekend's win against Marseille with a suspected ankle injury, although Enrique has insisted that the 24-year-old is "fine".
Mbappe could start Saturday's clash on the bench as a precaution, meaning that Ramos will likely join Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele in the forward line, with Manuel Ugarte and Warren Zaire-Emery operating in the engine room.
While Mbappe could feature this weekend, Marco Asensio (foot), Presnel Kimpembe (convalescence), Alexandre Letellier (knee), Nuno Mendes (muscle) and Sergio Rico (head) will not play any part as they remain on PSG's injury list.
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Seidu, Pelmard, Caufriez; Konate, Gonalons, Magnin, Gastien, Allevinha; Nicholson, Cham
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernandez; Hakimi, Ugarte, Zaire-Emery, Barcola; Dembele, Kolo Muani, Ramos
We say: Clermont 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Given that Clermont are rooted to the foot of the table after taking one point from a possible 18, we expect PSG to cruise to a comfortable victory on Saturday, making amends for their defeat to Les Lanciers on the final day of last season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
