Paris Saint-Germain will continue their preparations for their 2023-24 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr on Tuesday.
The French champions are building towards their Ligue 1 opener against Lorient on August 12, while Al-Nassr will next be in competitive action in the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al Shabab on July 28.
Match preview
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Kylian Mbappe's absence from the PSG squad for their pre-season tour has dominated the headlines, with the France international allegedly now being placed up for sale.
The Ligue 1 champions are said to be unwilling to run the risk of losing him on a free transfer next year, so he is set to leave the Paris giants in a big-money summer deal, with Real Madrid viewed as the favourites to sign him, but teams from the Premier League are also keeping a close eye on the situation.
Mbappe actually came off the bench to score in Friday's 2-0 win over Le Havre in a friendly, but he was then left out of the travelling squad for the tour, and PSG's focus has to be on their pre-season schedule, with matches against Al-Nassr, Cerezo Osaka, Inter Milan and Jeonbuk Motors to come.
Luis Enrique's side will then open their 2023-24 Ligue 1 campaign against Lorient on July 12, and it will be fascinating to see what the team achieve in the coming season under a new manager.
PSG have been very busy during the summer market, bringing in Manuel Ugarte, Lucas Hernandez, Hugo Ekitike, Lee Kang-in, Xavi Simons, Milan Skriniar, Marco Asensio and Cher Ndour.
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Al-Nassr, meanwhile, have brought in three new players during the current market, boosting their squad with the arrivals of Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Alex Telles.
Cristiano Ronaldo famously moved to the club earlier this year, but his 14 league goals in the second half of last season were not enough to take Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title, with the Riyadh outfit finishing second in the table, five points behind the champions Al-Ittihad.
Luis Castro's side have played four friendlies so far this summer, beating Alverca and Farense in back-to-back matches before suffering a 5-0 defeat to Celta Vigo on July 17.
Al-Nassr were then on the end of a 4-1 loss to Benfica last Thursday, and they have two more friendlies against PSG and Inter Milan to come before the start of the new season.
The Saudi outfit will next be in competitive action in the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al Shabab on July 28, while their new league season will begin against Al Ettifaq on August 14.
Team News
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Mbappe's absence from the PSG squad is easily the biggest news when it comes to the two sides, and it will be interesting to see how Enrique lines his side up from the first whistle.
Asensio started through the middle against Le Havre on Friday and that could again be the case in this match, with Neymar and Kang-in also potentially featuring in the final third of the field.
Vitinha, Marquinhos, Skriniar and Marco Verratti could all come into the starting XI, while Gianluigi Donnarumma has travelled to Japan despite being the victim of a violent robbery, and the goalkeeper is expected to be between the sticks for the first whistle on Tuesday.
Al-Nassr, meanwhile, could hand a debut to Telles, with the Brazilian defender's arrival from Manchester United being confirmed on Sunday morning.
Fofana could also make his first appearance for the club following his move from Lens, while Brozovic should also feature in the middle of midfield for the Saudi outfit.
Ronaldo started against Benfica last time out and that is again expected to be the case in this match, with Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Talisca also set to feature in the final third of the field.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Skriniar, Marquinhos, Hernandez; Verratti, Vitinha, Ugarte; Kang-in, Asensio, Neymar
Al-Nassr possible starting lineup:
Al-Aqidi; Konan, Oujami, Al-Amri, Telles; Brozovic, Fofana, K Al Ghannam, Talisca; Ronaldo, Ghareeb
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Al-Nassr
Al-Nassr are certainly capable of causing PSG problems in this match, and we are backing the Saudi Arabian side to get their name on the scoresheet. PSG will have the superior quality across the pitch, though, and we are expecting Enrique's side to make it two wins from their two pre-season games this summer.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
