Paris SG Vs Al Nassr Premier League Football Match 2023
Paris Saint-Germain will continue their preparations for their 2023-24 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr on Tuesday. The French champions are building towards their Ligue 1 opener against Lorient on August 12, while Al-Nassr will next be in competitive action in the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al Shabab on July 28. Kylian Mbappe’s absence from the PSG squad for their pre-season tour has dominated the headlines, with the France international allegedly now being placed up for sale.
The Ligue 1 champions are said to be unwilling to run the risk of losing him on a free transfer next year, so he is set to leave the Paris giants in a big-money summer deal, with Real Madrid viewed as the favourites to sig him, but teams from the Premier League are also keeping a close eye on the situation. Mbappe actually came off the bench to score in Friday’s 2-0 win over Le Havre in a friendly, but he was then left out of the travelling squad for the tour, and PSG’s focus has to be on their pre-season schedule, with matches against Al-Nassr, Cerezo Osaka, Inter Milan and Jeonbuk Motors to come.
Luis Enrique’s side will then open their 2023-24 Ligue 1 campaign against Lorient on July 12, and it will be fascinating to see what the team achieve in the coming season under a new manager. PSG have been very busy during the summer market, bringing in Manuel Ugarte, Lucas Hernandez, Hugo Ekitike, Lee Kang-in, Xavi Simons, Milan Skriniar, Marco Asensio and Cher Ndour. Al-Nassr, meanwhile, have brought in three new players during the current market, boosting their squad with the arrivals of Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Alex Telles.
Cristiano Ronaldo famously moved to the club earlier this year, but his 14 league goals in the second half of last season were not enough to take Al-Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title, with the Riyadh outfit finishing second in the table, five points behind the champions Al-Ittihad. Luis Castro’s side have played four friendlies so far this summer, beating Alverca and Farense in back-to-back matches before suffering a 5-0 defeat to Celta Vigo on July 17. Al-Nassr were then on the end of a 4-1 loss to Benfica last Thursday, and they have two more friendlies against PSG and Inter Milan to come before the start of the new season.
The Saudi outfit will next be in competitive action in the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al Shabab on July 28, while their new league season will begin against Al Ettifaq on August 14. Mbappe’s absence from the PSG squad is easily the biggest news when it comes to the two sides, and it will be interesting to see how Enrique lines his side up from the first whistle. Asensio started through the middle against Le Havre on Friday and that could again be the case in this match, with Neymar and Kang-in also potentially featuring in the final third of the field.
Vitinha, Marquinhos, Skriniar and Marco Verratti could all come into the starting XI, while Gianluigi Donnarumma has travelled to Japan despite being the victim of a violent robbery, and the goalkeeper is expected to be between the sticks for the first whistle on Tuesday. Al-Nassr, meanwhile, could hand a debut to Telles, with the Brazilian defender’s arrival from Manchester United being confirmed on Sunday morning. Fofana could also make his first appearance for the club following his move from Lens, while Brozovic should also feature in the middle of midfield for the Saudi outfit.
Ronaldo started against Benfica last time out and that is again expected to be the case in this match, with Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Talisca also set to feature in the final third of the field.Al Nassr resume their pre-season tour with another massive fixture against a European giant this week as they lock horns with Christophe Galtier’s PSG side in an intriguing fixture at the Nagai Stadium on Tuesday. PSG won the Ligue 1 title in emphatic fashion last season and have an excellent squad at their disposal. The Parisian giants eased past Le Havre by a 2-0 scoreline in their previous game and will look to achieve a similar result this week.
Al Nassr, on the other hand, secured a second-place finish in the Saudi Pro League last season and have not been at their best in recent months. The Saudi Arabian side suffered a damaging 4-1 defeat at the hands of Benfica last week and will need to work hard to bounce back in this match. Al Nassr have never played an official game against PSG and will need to adapt to a new opponent going into the match this week.After an unbeaten run of eight matches in all competitions, Al Nassr have lost their last two matches on their pre-season tour and have conceded a total of nine goals in these games.Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a total of 14 goals in his 16 appearances for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League – only Anderson Talisca was more prolific than the Portuguese legend in the competition.PSG endured a difficult end to their triumphant Ligue 1 campaign last season and were winless in their last two matches, picking up only one point during this period.PSG were the most prolific team in Ligue 1 by a considerable margin and scored an impressive 89 goals in their 38 matches over the course of the competition.
