Newly promoted side Ajaccio will arguably face their toughest test of the season as they prepare to go head-to-head with defending champions and league leaders Paris Saint Germain in Ligue 1 2022/23 at home on Friday night. While the hosts secured a thrilling last-gasp point against Troyes last weekend, Christophe Galtier‘s men earned the bragging rights in Le Classique with a 1-0 win over Marseille thanks to a goal from Neymar.
As many as four Ligue 1 managers have already been relieved of their duties even in the early stages of the season which just goes to show how turbulent starts have been for some teams. As such, Ajaccio manager Olivier Pantaloni has improved his reputation tremendously following a recent upturn in performances and a string of decent results.
After taking six points with wins over both Marseille and Brest, which came on either side of a loss at home to Clermont, Ajaccio held Troyes to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de l’Aube last weekend, as Jackson Porozo’s opener was cancelled out by a late Mounaim El Idrissy finish to secure a point for the hosts.
While they have taken seven points from a possible 12 in their last four matches, it still hasn’t been enough to lift Ajaccio out of the dreaded relegation zone in the Ligue 1 table. The remain 18th in the four-team relegation zone, but they will take some comfort in the fact that just a single point separates them from Reims and Auxerre in the safety of the 15th and 16th spots.
Having started life back in the top-flight of French football with the big boys with only one point to boast from their opening seven games, Ajaccio have secured an ideal time to turn their fortunes around and will now aim to find the back of the net for the fifth game running on Friday night.
However, all of Ajaccio’s positive results in their recent purple patch have come on rival turf, and they hold the unwanted record of being the division’s worst-performing team at home – losing each of their last four at the Stade Francois-Coty since an opening day draw with Lens.
With the media continuing to build up regarding Neymar and Kylian Mbappe’s non-existent and turbulent relationship off the field, their on-field chemistry proved as great as ever during the 103rd edition of Le Classique with Marseille. PSG dented their arch-rivals’ title aspirations a further blow with a 1-0 success at home at the Parc des Princes.
Even at the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony, French superstar Mbappe was the subject of several boos from the crowd because of his desire to leave the club amid a complete breakdown of relationship between him and the PSG top brass following his much-speculated contract renewal a few months ago.
However, during the match with Marseille, Mbappe laid off Neymar for the Brazilian to poke home the winner off the post in first-half injury time, and Marseille’s hopes of a fightback were extinguished following Samuel Gigot’s straight red card.
Manager Christophe Galtier has spent the entire week having to furiously deny stories of Mbappe having made up his mind to leave and regarding an alleged smear campaign launched by PSG against their own superstar. However, the victory over Marseille in Le Classique in Paris has allowed them to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table, and they remain unbeaten after 11 domestic matches.
While it was a far from spectacular Classique success in Paris, PSG will be glad to end their run of three consecutive draws last weekend and unsurprisingly travel to Ajaccio boasting the league’s best attacking and defensive records away from home, scoring 19 and conceding just one on their travels so far this term.
Each of PSG’s last four away games in Ligue 1 has seen them keep a clean sheet as Galtier seeks to impose his defensive nous onto the Les Parisiens XI, and Ajaccio are winless in seven meetings against the champions, whose most recent clash with Friday’s hosts in the 2014-15 Coupe de la Ligue ended in a 3-1 victory.
ACA vs PSG, Ligue 1 2022/23
Date: 22nd October, 2022
Time: 12:30 AM IST
Venue: Estadio François-Coty, Ajaccio
FORM GUIDE:
Ajaccio Ligue 1 form:
- L-L-W-L-W-D
Paris Saint Germain Ligue 1 form:
- W-W-W-W-D-W
Paris Saint Germain form (all competitions):
- W-W-D-D-D-W
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Ajaccio wins: 2
Draws: 8
Paris Saint Germain wins: 5
TEAM NEWS:
Ajaccio Team News:
Ajaccio have two players returning from one-game supsensions this week and left-back Ismael Diallo and attacker Cyrille Bayala, both of whom have been regular starters this season, will come into contention for immediate recalls from the manager.
Romain Hamouma (meniscus), Yoann Touzghar (ankle) and Qazim Laci (hamstring) all remain sidelined for this contest, and it remains to be seen if centre-back Fernand Mayembo will be fit to play a part against the champions.
Substitute Youcef Belaili weaved his way in and out of challenges and made excellent contributions before El Idrissy registered the equaliser against Troyes and is pushing to displace 37-year-old Riad Nouri, who missed a first-half penalty last weekend.
Paris Saint Germain Team News:
Meanwhile, PSG attacker Neymar is currently involved in active court proceedings, refuting allegations of corruption and fraud relating to his move from Santos to Barcelona, but the Brazilian is suspended for this game in any case due to an accumulation of bookings.
Sergio Ramos also has one more game of his ban to serve after seeing red against Reims, and Galtier’s defensive ranks have thinned further after Danilo Pereira left the field with “severe” hamstring pain 25 minutes into Le Classique – joining Presnel Kimpembe and Nuno Mendes on the sidelines.
Nordi Mukiele should therefore be introduced into the back four alongside Marquinhos, and a space has opened up for Hugo Ekitike to earn a rare start up front as Neymar misses out.
Ajaccio possible starting lineup:
Leroy; Youssouf, Gonzalez, Avinel, Diallo; Bayala, Marchetti, Coutadeur, Belaili; El Idrissy, Moussiti-Oko
Paris Saint Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Mukiele, Marquinhos, Bernat; Verratti, Vitinha, Ruiz; Messi; Mbappe, Ekitike
Predictions:
Ajaccio have demonstrated more of a resilient streak at just the right time, but home is not where they have found their groove just yet. Pantaloni’s side frequent failures to perform in front of their own fans are well-documented and they are in for a further rude awakening when the champions visit their town.
Even without Neymar and a host of defensive concerns to work around, Friday’s game should see PSG light the blue touch paper with a routine success, probably with a few goals in store for their unfancied opponents as well.
ACA vs PSG Fantasy XI No. 1
ACA vs PSG Fantasy XI No. 2
