After two weeks without football, Ligue 1 Uber Eats teams are back in action as the Trophée des Champions is set to take place at the Parc des Princes this evening.
Moved from its usual place in the calendar ahead of the season, the Trophée des Champions pits the Ligue 1 title holders against the Coupe de France winners every year. After Toulouse FC broke what had been a lengthy trophy drought by winning the Coupe de France, they earned the right to take on Paris Saint-Germain, the league champions and the most successful club in the competition’s history. Despite both sides having strong campaigns last year, this evening’s match sees them in rather disparate states.
Leaders again, the capital side top the table by five points over OGC Nice, their closest rivals. Kylian Mbappé leads the scoring charts with fifteen goals, and even if new manager Luis Enrique has endured a few bumps in the road, particularly in Europe, things are going well for the team. New signings like Ousmane Dembélé and Manuel Ugarte have played key roles this season, and youngster Warren Zaïre-Emery has become a breakout player at just 17.
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— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 2, 2024
The training session before #TDC2023 at PSG Campus! ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/LF5mZDq6lD
Moreover, the break has allowed the hosts to welcome the returns of a raft of players who had been dealing with injuries before the break, including Dembélé and midfielder Fabián Ruiz. Toulouse are not as lucky, however — Les Violets will be without defender Logan Costa through suspension, and Mikkel Desler and Niklas Schmidt will join long-term absentee Zakaria Aboukhlal on the sidelines as well.
In addition to these absences, Toulouse will have to rebound from an uneven patch of form. The Coupe de France winners have performed admirably in Europe, even notching a famous victory over Liverpool, but have had their issues domestically. With just two wins all season, they sit just outside the relegation zone, and will have their work cut out for them against the leaders.
That being said, Toulouse did hold PSG to a one-all draw when the two sides met in August. With a trophy on the line, and the ever-dangerous Thijs Dallinga likely to lead the line, the visitors will retain the hope, however faint, of causing an upset this evening.
Predicted lineups:
Paris Saint-Germain (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernández; Zaïre-Emery, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembélé, Mbappé, Lee
Toulouse FC (4-3-3): Restes; Mawissa Elebi, Nicolaisen, Diarra, Suazo; Sierro, Casseres, Spierings; Dönnum, Dallinga, Magri
