Concluding another breeze of a Ligue 1 campaign, Paris Saint-Germain welcome mid-table Auxerre to the Parc des Princes on Saturday, in a final-day dead rubber.
Les Parisiens thumped relegated Montpellier HSC 4-1 in their penultimate game of the campaign, while Christophe Pelissier‘s troops settled for a 1-1 stalemate with Nantes.
Match preview
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As PSG’s big-hitters revelled in reaching the club’s second Champions League final in six years – where they must pass an Inter Milan-sized test to finally conquer the continent – Les Parisiens’ prospects proved that the kids are more than alright against Montpellier.
Luis Enrique‘s lineup last weekend had an average age of just 21 years and 251 days, their youngest-ever starting XI in a Ligue 1 game, but Ligue 2-bound Montpellier put up little resistance at the Stade de la Mosson as the champions ran riot.
After 18-year-old Senny Mayulu broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time, it was one of PSG’s ‘old boys’ in the shape of 23-year-old Goncalo Ramos who led the second-half surge, netting a 16-minute hat-trick to render Tanguy Coulibaly‘s effort meaningless.
Crowned champions with six games to spare a few weeks ago, PSG have understandably taken their eye off the ball domestically – a slight shame for those fans who were yearning for an unbeaten season – as they had failed to win in three straight top-flight matches before the mauling of Montpellier.
However, Enrique’s men have rediscovered their domestic mojo at the perfect time, as Saturday’s Ligue 1 finale precedes two finals in the space of a week, firstly against Reims in the Coupe de France on May 24 before their date with European destiny against Inter in Munich.
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A draw or win for Les Parisiens would also see the hosts set a new record points total for an 18-team Ligue 1 season – their current haul of 81 matches Saint-Etienne’s tally from the 1969-70 season – while defeat for Auxerre should not cause their supporters to lose any sleep.
Unlike in the 2022-23 season – where they were immediately demoted back down to the second division after winning promotion the season before – AJA have consolidated their spot at the top of the French game following their 2023-24 Ligue 2 title success.
In Christophe Pelissier’s third year in the job, the 59-year-old has led Auxerre to a commendable total of 42 points from 33 matches so far, although as Lens are seven points better off than Saturday’s visitors in ninth spot, a top-half finish is out of the equation.
Nevertheless, AJA cannot rank any lower than 12th in the Ligue 1 table when all is said and done, although they are not ending the 2024-25 season as they mean to begin the 2025-26 campaign, only winning one of their last five fixtures after last weekend’s low-scoring stalemate with Nantes.
Gaetan Perrin‘s opener in that contest at least means that the visitors have scored in each of their last nine games in the French top flight, but they are winless in five against PSG, who – on paper – should have little issue ending their Ligue 1 campaign on a high.
Team News
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Blessed with a fully-fit squad once again, Enrique ought to revert to a full-strength side even with nothing but pride on the line, as the Spaniard must keep his top troops ticking over ahead of their cup final double-header.
Desire Doue should be the only starter from the Montpellier triumph to reprise his role in the first XI; the 19-year-old was recently bestowed with the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year prize and was one of nine PSG players to make the Team of the Season.
Player of the Season Ousmane Dembele begins the weekend two goals clear of Mason Greenwood at the summit of the Golden Boot charts; if he wins the prize with his current total of 21, that would be the lowest number of goals for a single Ligue 1 Golden Boot winner since Mamadou Niang took home the award with 18 in 2009-10; Kylian Mbappe and Wissam Ben Yedder shared the 2019-20 honour with the same total.
In contrast, Auxerre are weakened by the absences of ACL victims Lasso Coulibaly and Nathan Buayi-Kiala, while 20-year-old midfield prospect Kevin Danois is also absent as he recuperates from a hamstring concern.
Pelissier has all of his troops from last weekend available again, though, including wing wizard Perrin, whose opener against Nantes saw the 28-year-old hit double figures in both goals and assists for 2024-25.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia
Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Leon; Hoever, Akpa, Diomande, Jubal, Mensah; Perrin, Owusu, Massengo, Traore; Sinayoko
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 Auxerre
Easily the least important game left on PSG’s 2024-25 calendar, the Ligue 1 champions need not expend all their energy on Saturday, where the main focus should be avoiding any devastating injuries before the UCL final.
Momentum can be a priceless thing in football, though, so Enrique’s side should still take care of business without a fuss against Auxerre, who already have their feet up.
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