Angers SCO - Paris Saint-Germain

- Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

Neymar had been nursing ankle ligament damage after going off injured in PSG's 1-0 loss to Olympique Lyonnais in December, but returned on Wednesday, coming off the bench and scoring a penalty as Mauricio Pochettino claimed his first silverware as Paris coach with a 2-1 win.

Argentine Pochettino - a centre-back with the club at the start of the new millennium - has made a positive start since succeeding Thomas Tuchel in the Parc des Princes dugout in early January, with last Saturday's 3-0 win over Stade Brestois 29 seeing the champions close to within a point of leaders Lyon at the top of Ligue 1 Uber Eats.

Silverware

A UEFA Intertoto Cup winner as a PSG player in 2001, Pochettino clearly has grander designs than lifting the Trophée des Champions as coach, but he was nonetheless delighted with the victory.

Watch: Highlights of PSG's 3-0 win over Brest

"I'm very happy," he said once the celebrations had calmed down at RC Lens' Stade Bollaert-Delelis. "I'd first like to thank the players, Leonardo and Nasser Al-Khelaifi for giving me the opportunity to be at Paris Saint-Germain. I also want to thank Thomas Tuchel and his staff because if we're here today it's also because they made sure that this team is able to win titles."

A leading proponent of the 4-2-3-1 which was the Formation du Jour in world football for much of the past decade - Pochettino led Tottenham Hotspur to the UEFA Champions League final with it in 2019 - the new man has, to the surprise of some, stuck to Tuchel's 4-3-3 thus far.

Neymar to start?

The personnel which populates it remains up for debate, though, with midweek goalscorer Mauro Icardi and his late replacement Moise Kean both coming in for praise from Pochettino. Kylian Mbappé, having started three games in eight days, could be due a rest - especially with Neymar now fit to replace him in a game in which Paris are overwhelming favourites.

Rafinha and Juan Bernat are Paris's only ongoing absences due to a positive coronavirus test and a torn ACL respectively, with Presnel Kimpembe joining Neymar in making a return from injury against Marseille.

Angers in form

Angers, to their immense credit, are only nine points back from PSG in seventh. Les Scoïstes had won back-to-back games - against Marseille and LOSC no less - before last Saturday's 3-0 loss at AS Monaco.

Stéphane Moulin's side have lost their last two meetings with Paris 6-1 and 4-0, though, and haven't beaten the French champions in 13 attempts stretching back to their first top-flight meeting in September 1993. Their coach remains philosophical.

Watch: Highlights of Angers' 3-0 loss in Monaco

"We were hardly going to win against Marseille, Lille, Monaco and Paris," he said. "We've taken six points out of nine, which is already exceptional. We privately hoped to take something against Monaco, but we did some stupid things that cost us.

'Scoreline bothers me'

"I can't castigate my team. We gave what we had with the means we had. We were beaten by a side stronger than us, I readily admit. After that, it's the score that bothers me."

Rachid Alioui and Enzo Ebosse are missing, the former due to illness; the latter a ruptured LCL ligament, but Moulin otherwise has a full hand to play with. Stéphane Bahoken, who has two goals in five career games against PSG, should lead the line.

Possible line-ups

Angers: Bernardoni; Manceau, Traoré, Thomas, Doumbia; Amadou, Mangani; Capelle, Fulgini, Pereira Lage; Bahoken

PSG: Navas; Dagba, Marquinhos, Diallo, Bakker; Herrera, Gueye, Verratti; Di Maria, Icardi, Neymar