Injuries to several key players mean that Paris Saint-Germain’s trip to struggling Evian in Ligue 1 on Friday may prove a stiffer test than the reigning champions bargained for.
With captain Thiago Silva already out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, PSG saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic go off with a slight muscle tear in his side early in last week’s 2-0 home win against SC Bastia.
A first Ligue 1 win of the campaign for Laurent Blanc’s side was also overshadowed by a fractured vertebra suffered by Gregory Van der Wiel, while midfielder Thiago Motta’s nose was fractured following an ugly clash with Bastia’s Brazilian striker Brandao in the tunnel after the game.
There is plenty of depth to the capital club’s squad, with Serge Aurier, Yohan Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi and Ezequiel Lavezzi all starting on the bench last weekend, but the loss of Silva and Ibrahimovic in particular is an undoubted blow ahead of the game in Annecy.
When Paris faced Evian away last season, nobody expected their run of 26 Ligue 1 matches without defeat to come to an end, yet they were beaten 2-0.
In April 2013, Evian also knocked their illustrious opponents out of the Cuope de France (French Cup) quarter-finals on penalties, but it would still be a major surprise if they slipped up this time.
“We are a step ahead compared to this time last year,” says Blanc, whose team started last season slowly before running away with the title.
“Our physical preparation has not changed. It is just that we have been together a year longer. In terms of our play, there is no comparison.”
“Last year we lost 2-0 there but the conditions were complicated because the pitch was frozen,” pointed out left-back Lucas Digne. “In any case we are expecting another difficult match.”
That is despite the fact that Evian lie rooted to the foot of the table already. Many observers’ pre-season favourites to go down, Evian have conceded nine goals in losing their opening two matches, including a 6-2 hammering at Rennes last weekend.
“There were good signs in pre-season, but unfortunately after 180 minutes in Ligue 1 we have let in nine goals,” said Evian coach Pascal Dupraz, before adding: “It is never good to play PSG, but we didn’t steal our victory when we beat them last season.”
Under normal circumstances, the pressure would be on Dupraz, but he is so powerful within the club, also holding the role of general manager, that the chances of him being ousted from the dugout seem slim.
In contrast, the pressure is on two of Ligue 1’s newest faces already, with Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa in need of a first win when his side face Guingamp in Brittany.
More seasoned observers of French football believe that Argentine Bielsa and Monaco’s new Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim, with their out of the ordinary tactical choices and training regimes, may have underestimated Ligue 1.
Monaco have lost their first two games under Jardim, including a 4-1 thumping at Bordeaux, and need to halt the slide when they go to Nantes.
The principality club’s Russian vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said: “We are not satisfied. We have started badly. But I am not worried, because we have changed a lot of things in terms of methodology and the team. We need time for everything to gel.”
In contrast, Bordeaux have enjoyed a perfect start under new boss Willy Sagnol. They travel south to face Nice, while Saint-Etienne, having also had a perfect start, host Rennes on Sunday after a hazardous trip to Turkey to play Karabukspor in the Europa League on Thursday.
Lyon are also in Europa League action on Thursday, against Romania’s Astra Giurgiu, before hosting Lens, while Lille play Lorient in between the two legs of their Champions League play-off with Porto.
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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Company%20Profile
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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
Company%20profile
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
SUCCESSION%20SEASON%204%20EPISODE%201
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Company%20Profile
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Company%20Profile
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