Paris Saint-Germain will begin life without Neymar when they travel to Occitania to face Toulouse on the second weekend of the new Ligue 1 season.
The hosts head into Saturday's showdown on the back of a 2-1 victory over Nantes, while PSG were held to a goalless draw by Lorient last time out.
Match preview
Following the departure of Philippe Montanier during the off-season, Toulouse kicked off the Carles Martinez Novell era with a spirited away win against Nantes on the opening weekend.
Trailing after Mostafa Mohamed's 13th-minute penalty, Les Violets equalised midway through the second half thanks to Zakaria Aboukhlal before centre-back Rasmus Nicolaisen scored the winning goal deep into added time.
Funnily enough, Toulouse also defeated Nantes in the Coupe de France final last season, thrashing Les Canaris 5-1 to secure the silverware, although the club's 13th-placed finish in Ligue 1 was not enough to keep Montanier in the managerial hot seat.
Having been appointed as Montanier's assistant in December 2022, Carles Martinez Novell was handed the top job last month, despite the 39-year-old Spaniard's only previous managerial experience coming as head coach of Kuwait Under-20s.
TFC were wildly inconsistent at Stadium de Toulouse last term, recording six wins, six draws and seven losses on home soil in the league, so Martinez Novell will be determined to establish some consistency this season.
It is no secret that Paris Saint-Germain have experienced plenty of off-field drama in recent times - and the uncertainty behind the scenes clearly impacted the team's performance on the opening weekend.
With star forward Kylian Mbappe watching from the stands and Neymar finalising a mega-money move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, PSG were held to a goalless draw by Lorient at Parc des Princes last time out.
Not only did Les Parisiens see 78% of the ball, but they also racked up 20 shots, preventing Lorient from registering a single attempt on target, with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma enjoying a quiet evening between the sticks.
Despite winning the Ligue 1 title last term - clinching a ninth top-flight crown in 11 years - the perennial champions parted company with manager Christophe Galtier after just one season, appointing Luis Enrique as his successor.
Enrique will be expected to add more silverware to the club's trophy cabinet this season, but the former Spain and Barcelona boss will need to create a sense of harmony in the dressing room in order to achieve success.
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Team News
Toulouse have a stacked injury list at the moment, with Ibrahim Cissoko, Junior Flemmings, Kevin Keben, Ado Onaiwu, Naatan Skytta and Oliver Zanden all expected to miss Saturday's clash.
Martinez Novell will likely continue with his favoured 4-3-3 formation, meaning that Zakaria Aboukhlal and Gabriel Suazo will offer attacking support to Dutch striker Thijs Dallinga, who netted 18 goals across all competitions last season.
PSG are also without a host of players due to injury, as Juan Bernat, Presnel Kimpembe, Alexandre Letellier, Nuno Mendes, Nordi Mukiele and Sergio Rico remain on the sidelines.
On a brighter note, Kylian Mbappe has returned to first-team training following a contract dispute with the club, although it remains to be seen where Enrique will select the 24-year-old in his starting XI on Saturday.
Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Manuel Ugarte, Lee Kang-in, Goncalo Ramos and Marco Asensio all made their competitive debuts for PSG against Lorient, but Enrique will likely be tempted to alter the lineup after last weekend's disappointing draw.
Toulouse possible starting lineup:
Restes; Desler, Costa, Nicolaisen, Diarra; Sierro, Casseres, Genreau; Aboukhlal, Dallinga, Suazo
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Ugarte, Vitinha; Mbappe, Romas, Asensio
We say: Toulouse 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Motivated by last weekend's dropped points, Paris Saint-Germain look set to bounce back with a much-needed straightforward victory over Toulouse, who will likely struggle to deal with PSG's attacking firepower.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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