Paris Saint-Germain head to Toulouse FC on Wednesday night with little doubt as to the pecking order between Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr. - at least in terms of penalties.
Toulouse FC - Paris Saint-Germain
- Kick-off: 19:00 GMT
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Neymar has made a career-best start to the current campaign, his penalty in Sunday's 1-1 draw against AS Monaco his eighth goal from five games in all competitions. Throw in his six assists and the Brazilian has had a hand in a goal every 32 minutes he has played.
Monaco blip
PSG's draw with Monaco was a rare slip-up - Christophe Galtier's side had won their previous three Ligue 1 Uber Eats games to the tune of 17 goals scored and just three conceded - and the champions remain top of the table thanks to their vastly superior goal-difference.
Mbappé has been given senior status in the Paris squad after spurning Real Madrid to sign a new contract at the Parc des Princes this summer, but he stepped aside to allow Neymar to take the spot-kick which levelled things up against his former employers on Sunday.
Watch: Highlights of PSG's 1-1 draw with Monaco
"The hierarchy's been well established: it's Kylian No.1 and Neymar No.2," clarified Galtier after the game. "But afterwards, there's the reality of the match and the moment. I saw that they spoke, and that Ney made the decision to shoot, but only after discussing with Kylian.
"I appreciated Kylian's attitude in congratulating Ney and Ney's to have thanked him. They're great players and it's also up to them to decide based on how they feel. The most important thing is that Neymar scored it and that Kylian came to congratulate him."
Monaco went in hard against PSG to earn their draw, but the champions emerged relatively unscathed, with no fresh injury concerns ahead of their midweek match. Julian Draxler and Timothée Pembélé are longer-term absentees with knee problems.
PSG at full strength?
Paris open their UEFA Champions League campaign against Juventus next Tuesday, but Saturday's trip to FC Nantes is a bigger candidate for squad rotation, with something approaching a full-strength team expected at the Stadium de Toulouse, even if Mbappé, Neymar and Co. are subbed off early in the event of an insurmountable lead.
PSG have a winning habit against Toulouse, not having lost to le Téfécé since September 2016 when Jimmy Durmaz and Yann Bodiger scored in a shock 2-0 reverse. But Wednesday's hosts have only lost once in four games since they returned to the top flight as Ligue 2 BKT champions this summer.
That defeat arrived last time out, however, with Nantes running out 3-1 winners at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Sunday. Toulouse coach Philippe Montanier was without the injured Rhys Healey and Issiaga Sylla for the game - something he lamented post-match.
Watch: Highlights of Toulouse's 3-1 loss at Nantes
"We were missing some strong elements," said Galtier's opposite number. "We only had two attacking players on the bench. We'll discuss with the president whether we can continue like this but maybe we need a bit more strength.
Montanier: 'there's potential'
"We have a group of 20 in training, including several 19- and 20-year-olds, only two of whom have played in Ligue 1. We have a young and inexperienced squad but there's potential and we'll work on it."
With Healy (ruptured cruciate ligament) and Sylla (groin strain) missing, Dutch attacker Thijs Dallinga should lead the line with one of the aforementioned youngsters, Moussa Diarra, deputising at left-back.
Possible teams
Toulouse: Dupé; Desler, Rouault, Nicolaisen, Diarra; Spierings, Van den Boomen; Ratao Dejaegere, Aboukhlal; Dallinga
PSG: Donnarumma; Ramos, Marquinhos, Kimpembe; Hakimi, Vitinha, Verratti, Mendes; Messi; Mbappé, Neymar