Newly-promoted Ajaccio will be aiming to pull off the shock of all shocks in Ligue 1 when they open gameweek 11 against reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Francois-Coty on Friday night.
The hosts managed to rescue a last-gasp point against Troyes last weekend, while Christophe Galtier's men earned the bragging rights in Le Classique with a 1-0 win over Marseille.
Match preview
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With no fewer than four Ligue 1 managers recently being relieved of their duties as sacking season hits full swing, Ajaccio bpss Olivier Pantaloni has done his prospects of keeping his job the world of good with a notable upturn in recent results.
After coming away from clashes at Marseille and Brest with six points to their name - either side of a home defeat to Clermont - Ajaccio held Troyes to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de l'Aube last weekend, as Jackson Porozo's opener was cancelled out by a late Mounaim El Idrissy finish.
Taking seven points from their last 12 on offer in Ligue 1 has not been enough to propel Pantaloni's side above the dreaded dotted line in the table, as they remain 18th in the four-team relegation zone, but only one point separates them from Reims and Auxerre in the safety of 15th and 16th spots.
Having started life back with the big boys with only one point to boast from their opening seven games, Ajaccio have picked an ideal time to turn their fortunes around and will now aim to find the back of the net for the fifth game running on Friday night.
However, all of Ajaccio's positive results in their recent purple patch have come on rival turf, and they hold the unwanted honour of being the division's worst-performing team at home - losing each of their last four at the Stade Francois-Coty since an opening draw with Lens.
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As rumours surrounding their allegedly frosty off-field relationship continue to swirl, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe proved that their on-field connection is as strong as ever during the 103rd edition of Le Classique, as PSG dented their rivals' title aspirations with a 1-0 Parc des Princes success.
Prior to being the subject of boos at the Ballon d'Or awards over his reported desire to leave the club, Mbappe laid off Neymar for the Brazilian to poke home the winner off the post in first-half injury time, and Marseille's hopes of a fightback were extinguished following Samuel Gigot's straight red card.
After spending a week furiously denying claims of Mbappe's unhappiness and an alleged smear campaign against the striker, Galtier and co got the job done in Paris to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table, and they remain unbeaten after 11 domestic matches.
While it was a far from spectacular Classique success, PSG ended a run of three consecutive draws last weekend and unsurprisingly travel to Ajaccio boasting the league's best attacking and defensive records away from home, scoring 19 and conceding just one on rival turf so far this term.
Each of PSG's last four away games in Ligue 1 has seen them keep a clean sheet as Galtier seeks to impose his defensive nous onto the Parisiens XI, and Ajaccio are winless in seven meetings against the champions, whose most recent clash with Friday's hosts in the 2014-15 Coupe de la Ligue ended in a 3-1 victory.
Team News
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Ajaccio have two players returning from one-game bans this week in the forms of left-back Ismael Diallo and attacker Cyrille Bayala, both of whom have been regular starters this term and will come into contention for immediate recalls.
Romain Hamouma (meniscus), Yoann Touzghar (ankle) and Qazim Laci (hamstring) all remain out of contention, and it remains to be seen if centre-back Fernand Mayembo will be fit to play a part against the champions.
Substitute Youcef Belaili weaved his way in and out of challenges before El Idrissy's equaliser against Troyes and is pushing to displace 37-year-old Riad Nouri, who missed a first-half penalty last weekend.
Meanwhile, PSG attacker Neymar is currently involved in active court proceedings, refuting allegations of corruption and fraud relating to his move from Santos to Barcelona, but the Brazilian is suspended for this game in any case due to an accumulation of bookings.
Sergio Ramos also has one more game of his ban to serve after seeing red against Reims, and Galtier's defensive ranks have thinned further after Danilo Pereira left the field with "severe" hamstring pain 25 minutes into Le Classique - joining Presnel Kimpembe and Nuno Mendes on the sidelines.
Nordi Mukiele should therefore be introduced into the back four alongside Marquinhos, and a space has opened up for Hugo Ekitike to earn a rare start up front as Neymar misses out.
Ajaccio possible starting lineup:
Leroy; Youssouf, Gonzalez, Avinel, Diallo; Bayala, Marchetti, Coutadeur, Belaili; El Idrissy, Moussiti-Oko
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Mukiele, Marquinhos, Bernat; Verratti, Vitinha, Ruiz; Messi; Mbappe, Ekitike
We say: Ajaccio 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Ajaccio have demonstrated more of a resilient streak at just the right time, but home is not where the heart is for Pantaloni's side, whose frequent failures to perform in front of their own fans are well-documented.
Even without Neymar and a host of defensive concerns to work around, Friday's game should see PSG light the blue touch paper with a routine success, probably with a few goals in tow.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
