Paris Saint-Germain predicted lineup vs Reims - Ligue 1

Christophe Galtier lost just one of his 15 managerial meetings with Reims (W7 D7)
Christophe Galtier lost just one of his 15 managerial meetings with Reims (W7 D7) / Eurasia Sport Images/GettyImages
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Paris Saint-Germain travel to the Stade Auguste-Delaune to face Reims in Ligue 1 on Saturday night.

Christophe Galtier's side began the campaign at a blistering pace but the hot streak has cooled in the last month - a slight decline which can be traced back to half-time of PSG's first Champions League game of the season.

Since PSG took their foot off the accelerator against Juventus, there has been a noticeable drop-off in their attacking verve. Across the first seven and a half matches of the season, PSG averaged four goals per game. That ratio has plummeted to 1.5 since.

Here's the XI Galtier may deploy to rediscover their clinical edge.


1. PSG XI (3-4-3)

Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe has directly contributed to seven goals in his last five league meetings with Reims (four goals, three assists) / Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma - By the age of ten, Donnarumma was already 6'0. Still just 23 years old, the towering Italy international is 6'5.

CB: Sergio Ramos - As Real Madrid captain, Ramos escorted Raymond Kopa on and off the Santiago Bernabeu pitch in 2016, shaking hands with an idol of Los Blancos and PSG's upcoming opponents, Reims - with whom he reached the 1956 European Cup final only to lose to Madrid.

CB: Marquinhos - Behind the expected trio, Marquinhos has taken the most shots in Ligue 1 for PSG this season.

CB: Danilo - The versatile 31-year-old scored his first own goal for PSG in midweek, finding his own net for the first time since his Porto side lost against Sporting in the 2019 Taça de Portugal final.

RWB: Achraf Hakimi - “It’s not enough to be sorry," Kylian Mbappe was spotted barking at the wingback last season, "give a good ball!” Three of Hakimi's last four assists have created goals for Mbappe.

CM: Vitinha - Luis Campos' first signing since arriving as the sporting advisor in the summer has proven to be an astute addition.

CM: Marco Verratti - In PSG's last meeting with Reims in January, Verratti scored the first brace of his long but scarcely prolific career.

LWB: Juan Bernat - Stepping in for the injured Nuno Mendes, Bernat may be granted an extended run in the team.

RW: Pablo Sarabia - Galtier admitted "Leo was tired" against Benfica in midweek, perhaps hinting at a breather for Lionel Messi and a rare start for Sarabia, the team's marginally less heralded left-footer who made his name in Spain.

ST: Kylian Mbappe - In the past, the ambitious entrepreneurial Frenchman has said that he wants to be more than “just the guy who shoots the ball and finishes his career and goes to the yacht and takes his money”.

LW: Neymar - The Brazilian international is just two goals shy of matching Pele's record haul for the Seleçao, an iconic figure he could surpass on the grandest stage this winter.