Olympique de Marseille is coming off a 3-1 loss to OGC Nice and will now face off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France Round of 16 clash on Wednesday at the Stade Vélodrome.
Ahead of the matchup, midfielder Matteo Guendouzi spoke with Prime Video about playing PSG with no Kylian Mbappe in the starting 11. The 24-year-old suffered a left thigh injury against Montpellier last week and will be out for three weeks.
“We all know his qualities; he is one of the best players in the world,” Guendouzi said (h/t Culture PSG). “Like all great players, they can make a difference. Kylian is a fantastic player who can score at any time.”
Furthermore, Guendouzi discussed the overall contest in the latest installment of Le Classique, which will undoubtedly be a heated contest between the two rivals.
“It’s going to be a big match; we know that there are very good players on both sides,” Guendouzi continued. “On efficiency, we will have to be good on the counter-attacks because it is a team that can be formidable up front.
“They have quality players who can score at any time. We have done very good things since the start of the season. It is not because we lost this match that we will be less confident for Wednesday. We will attack this match well and we will be ready.”
PSG does have Neymar Jr. training again, so the capital club may have reinforcements on their attack. Nonetheless, dropping the 31-year-old into an intense match for his first game back from injury is a significant risk.
With the French giant’s first leg UEFA Champions League clash against FC Bayern Munich on Feb. 14 looming, manager Christophe Galtier will have to consider that if he plans to start Neymar.
