Paris to maintain perfect Ligue 1 start in style
Ligue 1 dead certs Paris Saint-Germain will travel to Brest for Friday night's big clash looking to maintain their winning start to the domestic campaign in swashbuckling style, and perhaps with Leo Messi playing some part in proceedings. The pressure will be on Mauricio Pochettino to not only steamroll almost all comers in France, but to do so whilst operating a swashbuckling, thoroughly entertaining strategy. Naturally, the hosts will be itching to put a spanner in the works. Read our preview here:
Grand Brittany
Head coach Michel Der Zakarian's charges have drawn both of their league games to date 1-1 against Lyon and Rennes respectively, which is admirable considering those sides will take part in UEFA competitions this term. First choice left-back Jere Uromen has recovered from a knock he took on Saturday relatively quickly, though he is likely to face Messi if the living legend makes his debut from the outset. Elsewhere, central midfielder Haris Belkelba will also be included in the matchday squad, but he will need assistance from the strikers in a 4-4-2 shape that could easily be swamped in possession and on the break. Target man Jérémy Le Douaron represents the home club's best chance of scoring in either open play or from set pieces, and Brest must find a way to not be too predictable in seeking him out.
Hakimi as mustard
In an all-star side of the past, most full-backs with one or two obvious exceptions would be considered far down the totem pole. Now, with the modern game evolving at an ever faster pace, the role has become the crux of most managers' tactics and formation. 22 year old Moroccan Achraf Hakimi has been devastating to date in his short career, especially on the overlap and overload in the final third. He'll be deployed very high up the field at almost all junctures on Friday, performing more like an auxiliary winger with a propensity to sit narrowly when the ball is on the opposite flank. He'll have no shortage of targets - Messi if he does make a cameo (Mauro Icardi if not, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Julian Draxler. The emphasis will be on overwhelming their adversaries from the outset.
3SG
Though Ligue 1 ably demonstrated last year that there is no such thing as certainties when Lille won a thrilling race to the championship, the regression of both the title holders and PSG's main other rivals, both through the collapse of the domestic TV deal crippling finances and poor starts, the pendulum is already swinging dangerously close to that outcome once more. Casumo have odds of 3.10 for Pochettio's men to score over 3.5 goals and in doing so, lay down the gauntlet.
