Girondins de Bordeaux - Paris Saint-Germain Wednesday at 21:00 CET (2000 GMT)

Pochettino’s two and a half years as a player at PSG have been regularly brought up since he returned to the Parc des Princes as coach in January. His spell there culminated in a run to the Coupe de France final in 2003, which Paris lost to AJ Auxerre. After that he departed, opting to join Elie Baup’s Bordeaux.

Speaking this week to Sud-Ouest, Baup recalled that Pochettino was recruited to provide experience in defence as the club entered a period of transition. He was immediately given the captain’s armband, but things never quite worked out for him at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. Baup was sacked barely three months after his arrival and Pochettino returned to former club Espanyol in January 2004.

“At Bordeaux it struck me that there were two players who would go on to become coaches at the top level: Michel Pavon and him,” recalled Baup. Pavon replaced Baup on the Bordeaux bench.

"I only spent a few months there," recalled Pochettino on Tuesday. "I remember scoring a goal against Auxerre and then getting injured in that match. I found it difficult to come back after that and I was transferred to Espanyol. But I had six extraordinary months there. It was a magnificent city and the supporters were brilliant."

Highlights: PSG outclass struggling Dijon

Pochettino was 31 when he left Bordeaux. He heads to the Matmut-Atlantique on Wednesday a day after celebrating his 49th birthday and with his focus on keeping the pressure firmly on leaders LOSC in the title race.

PSG’s 4-0 win at bottom club Dijon FCO on Saturday, coupled with Lille’s home draw against RC Strasbourg Alsace, allowed the reigning champions to close the gap at the top to just two points. They also climbed above Olympique Lyonnais into second after Rudi Garcia’s side drew 1-1 at Olympique de Marseille.

Mbappé suspended

The game comes at a particularly busy point in the season for Pochettino’s men, who travel to Stade Brestois 29 in the Coupe de France at the weekend before the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie at home to Barcelona on March 10. Yet injuries continue to give the coach plenty to think about, with Marco Verratti still not having recovered from a foot problem. Alessandro Florenzi has been struggling with an adductor injury, while Neymar Jr. remains sidelined. Angel di Maria is at least back in collective training following a hamstring problem.

On top of that Kylian Mbappé, the leading Ligue 1 Uber Eats scorer with 18 goals after his weekend double at Dijon, will miss this game as he serves a suspension. Mauro Icardi could return, however.

"Kylian is one of our most important players and it won't be easy to replace him," admitted Pochettino. "But I have confidence in the team."

Bordeaux held PSG to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture in Paris in November but their coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, is currently scratching his head as he tries to come up with solutions for a side that is struggling in mid-table.

Highlights: Bordeaux beaten by Metz

Les Girondins lost 2-1 at home to FC Metz on Saturday to suffer their fifth defeat in six league games. Their one draw in that time was a 0-0 stalemate at home to an Olympique de Marseille side who played most of the second half down to nine men. Bordeaux were also knocked out of the Coupe de France at home by second-tier Toulouse FC last month.

Given all that, their position of 11th coming into the midweek round perhaps flatters them. Then again they ended the weekend only three points better off than AS Saint-Etienne in 16th, and former PSG assistant coach Gasset - who worked at the capital club when Pochettino was a player - clearly has a big task on his hands. At least he can bring back Swiss full-back Loris Benito, who served a suspension against Metz following his red card in the previous week’s defeat at Nîmes Olympique.

Bordeaux captain Laurent Koscielny last week hit out at his team-mates as he admitted the atmosphere within the squad was “not great” and said “there needs to be a clear-out”. Nevertheless he did try to be slightly more positive in the wake of the Metz defeat.

“When you are in a negative spiral you tend to see bad stuff everywhere, but we need to try to be positive,” said the former France international defender. “The lads want to get out of this situation and do what needs to be done to get smiles on faces again after matches.”

Probable teams

Bordeaux: Costil; Sabaly, Mexer, Koscielny (c), Benito; Zerkane, Seri, Adli; Oudin, Hwang, Kalu

Paris Saint-Germain: Navas; Kehrer, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Rafinha, Paredes, Herrera; Draxler, Icardi, Kean