PARIS:
Paris Saint-Germain travel to Reims on Saturday in a top-of-the-table clash, providing the perfect setting for Warren Zaire-Emery to push for a starting place with France.
On Thursday, the 17-year-old was called up by Didier Deschamps to the French senior side for the next round of internationals on November 18 and 21.
The France Under-21 captain has been the undisputed star of Ligue 1 this season, making his name one of the first on Luis Enrique’s team sheet for every match.
If PSG’s midfield dynamo plays against Gibraltar or Greece, he will become the youngest France international since before World War I.
As Zaire-Emery has matured, so too has PSG hit Ligue 1 form in recent weeks and went into the weekend one point off the top flight with four wins in their last five outings.
However, they will need to bounce back after a poor midweek Champions League display away to Milan where they went down 2-1.
After an uncharacteristically quiet night on Tuesday, goals will be on the mind of Ligue 1 top scorer Kylian Mbappe, but Reims have only shipped five goals at home this term.
The side from the Champagne region have quietly moved up to fourth in the table this season under manager Will Still and have won four of their last six games.
Ahead of PSG by a point, Nice will have the chance to widen that gap when they make their way along the south coast to Montpellier on Friday.
Nice have been sparkling since the start of September, dropping points just once in a 0-0 draw against Brest.
Montpellier have been on the rise all season, picking up just 11 points from their 10 matches this season.
They’ve had a tough start to November, now taking Nice on the heels of last Friday’s 3-0 defeat away to PSG.
Marseille have been under the microscope in recent weeks after Lyon’s team bus was stoned, manager Fabio Grosso was injured, and last weekend’s meaningless 0-0 draw at home to Lille.
Desperate for some positives on the pitch, they travel away from the Velodrome this Sunday to face Lens in the Champions League.
One place separates the two sides in the table, but Lens will now go into the game in need of a confidence boost after Wednesday’s defeat by PSV Eindhoven meant they slipped out of the knockout places.
The PSG forward may have turned the page last weekend with his scintillating display against Montpellier, where he provided one assist and was a constant thorn in the opposition’s side.
After arriving from Barcelona in the summer for 50 million euros ($53 million), France international Dembele has failed to set Ligue 1 on fire, scoring zero goals in 10 appearances.
After an anonymous performance against Milan in midweek, a return to the league alongside a goal-hungry Mbappe and a confident Zaire-Emery could be the perfect storm to get him going again.
3 – Warren Zaire-Emery, aged 17 years and 255 days, would become the third youngest player to represent France if he featured against Gibraltar, according to Opta statisticians.
25 – The number of points Nice have after 11 games this season, the second highest total they have enjoyed at this stage of the season in the last 45 years.
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