Paris Saint-Germain have the chance to kick-off 2024 with silverware as they take on Toulouse in the Trophee des Champions on Wednesday night.
Perennial Ligue 1 victors have taken part in this fixture every year since 2013 and prevailed in all but one match-up. Toulouse, meanwhile, are facing PSG by virtue of their maiden Coupe de France success last season.
Luis Enrique’s side found their groove towards the end of 2023 after an expectedly mixed start. PSG ended the calendar year at the top of Ligue 1 and into the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Toulouse haven’t fared so well this term, however, and are poised to fight against the drop during the second half of the season. Summer appointment Carles Martinez Novell has struggled at the start of his tenure, but a shock victory on Wednesday will go a long way to changing the mood.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the 2024 Trophee des Champions.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Toulouse H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 1, discovery+ App, discovery+ |
|
United States |
Fanatiz USA, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS CONNECT |
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Canada |
beIN Sports Canada, Fanatiz Canada, beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada, beIN SPORTS en Español, fuboTV Canada |
PSG‘s injury list has been pretty extensive so far in 2023/24, and Enrique won’t be able to call upon a whole host of players for Wednesday’s game.
Ousmane Dembele is a new addition to the injury list with a hamstring problem, while back-up goalkeeper Arnau Tenas is set to miss out with a shoulder issue.
Nuno Mendes and Fabian Ruiz should both return to action later this month, as should Keylor Navas.
PSG predicted lineup vs Toulouse (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Skriniar, Marquinhos, Hernandez; Ugarte, Zaire-Emery, Vitinha; Asensio, Ramos, Mbappe.
Toulouse should be able to call upon the services of Zakaria Aboukhlal, Oliver Zanden, and Mikkel Desler at some point in January, but Wednesday’s fixture will likely come too soon for the injured trio.
Niklas Schmidt is a doubt, but he could feature off the bench.
Toulouse predicted lineup vs PSG (4-2-3-1): Restes; Mawissa, Costa, Nicolaisen, Suazo; Casseres, Spierings; Donnum, Gelabert, Magri; Dallinga.
These two sides played out a 1-1 draw in their first meeting this season, but that came at the start of Enrique’s spell in charge. PSG have found another gear or two since then, and are understandably heavy favourites to lift yet another Trophee des Champions title.
Toulouse perhaps aren’t as poor as their league position suggests, with their Europa League group stage campaign depicting how much of a nuisance they can be when they perform close to their apex.
The underdogs have the capacity to make life tricky for PSG, but it’d be a major surprise if Les Parisiens didn’t prevail on Wednesday night.
Prediction: PSG 3-1 Toulouse
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90Mins
