PSG's starting XI vs. Marseille remains a mystery as Luis Enrique weighs his attacking options. Full analysis inside.
On the eve of a Marseille vs. PSG match that already looks unbalanced, a real question mark hangs over the third attacker Luis Enrique will line up. If Dembele and Ferran Torres have a good lead, Desire Doue could be preferred over Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for the last spot in the attacking trio.
The very progressive and non-collective return of Hakimi, validating in an almost certain way the absence of the Moroccan international, means that the lineup of PSG against Marseille on Sunday night should not reserve the slightest surprise for a large part of the starting XI.
In defense, Zaire-Emery should slide to the right side and accompany the usual starters, Marquinhos, Pacho, and Nuno Mendes. Few doubts also in midfield, with Vitinha, Ruiz, and Neves expected.
But on the attack side, there is real doubt about the trio that will be lined up, and the press is already wondering about a possible left-out player with a prestigious CV. L'Equipe already sensed it in its edition of the day; Le Parisien confirms in its probable teams that Desire Doue, rather than Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, should start, left or right.
While this Marseille vs. PSG is the last match that will count before the Ballon d'Or and the capital club could choose its final candidate for the most prized individual trophy in the aftermath of this match, that will visibly have absolutely no impact on the choice of Luis Enrique, and little does it matter that Kvaratskhelia is one of the favorites in the election. Having scored a single goal this season in the European Super Cup (2-1), not performing very well in Ligue 1 overall, and remaining on the bench in the Champions League opener, he should therefore leave his place once again to Desire Doue, who has just chained two matches as a substitute, a rarity.
Neither newspaper mentions the other man in the Parisian attack, Maghnes Akliouche, in their Marseille vs. PSG preview. If Zidane snubbed him in the new coach's first list, Akliouche is Luis Enrique's second-most-used attacker this season, with three minutes less than Doue, and the Parisian coach always speaks highly of him. He is also the only player to have played in all seven of PSG's matches, including five starts. He is also the only attacker of the three to not have found the target, which seems to put him behind for this fixture.
This doubt between Doue and Kvaratskhelia, or even Akliouche, illustrates, by contrast, how far two other attackers, Ferran Torres and Ousmane Dembele, have come in making themselves indispensable. Individually and contrary to Mika Godts, who is still looking for his bearings, the two have known how to stand out: the Spaniard is by far the best Parisian scorer with his six goals, while Dembele, with his two goals and four assists, is the only player to have been as decisive as the Spaniard.
But what makes the two men indispensable at this instant is, above all, their association. The two companions have known each other since Barcelona, and it did not take long for them to find their bearings again. If the first two assists Ferran Torres received had come from Fabian Ruiz, three of the next four came from Dembele, a very inspired passer when it comes to finding the Spanish world champion.
This association also lets Luis Enrique's team juggle the two positions more easily. Brilliant against Slovan Bratislava from the left wing, Ferran also scored, starting on the right at Rennes (2-2, brace) and then at Brest (1-0). And to complement the duo, isn't the very versatile Doue the best solution? We will see.
