With several first-team players out due to injury, and Marquinhos unavailable due to illness according to Le Parisien, manager Thomas Tuchel had to tweak his squad for a highly anticipated match against second-place Angers SCO at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.
Le onze de départ 🆚 @AngersSCO ! 👊#PSGSCO
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) October 5, 2019
The most glaring change is Ander Herrera at right-back. Thomas Meunier is on the bench but Tuchel said in his pre-match press conference that the Belgian had been experiencing some muscle stiffness due to the number of minutes he’s played recently. With Colin Dagba and Thilo Kehrer out of the squad entirely, Tuchel had no other choice but to get creative with a 3-4-3 formation with Herrera likely taking over defensive duties down the right flank.
Another surprise was Leandro Paredes in the midfield. Again, with Marquinhos out and Herrera needed elsewhere on the pitch, Tuchel is giving the Argentine a great opportunity to prove himself and perhaps earn more playing time throughout the season.
The attack is what you would expect with one change. Angel Di Maria has featured quite a bit lately with Kylian Mbapp and Edinson Cavani out, so he is starting the match on the bench and Pablo Sarabia will pair with Neymar Jr. and Mauro Icardi who scored last Tuesday against Galatasaray S.K. in the UEFA Champions League.
It’s a solid squad from Tuchel and one that should be able to get a win against Angers at home. Thiago Silva and Presnel Kimpembe, who recently made a triumphant return from injury, lock down the defense and Idrissa Gueye and Marco Verratti should be able to dominate the midfield.
Kickoff is coming up shortly so make sure to follow @PSGTalk on Twitter and join the conversation as we live-tweet the match. Allez Paris!
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