The new Ligue 1 season starts with a lopsided contest on paper as Paris Saint-Germain visit Rennes. The head-to-head is brutally in PSG’s favour, with a 5-0 win in December and a 4-1 victory at this ground just over a year ago. Rennes are missing influential midfielder Seko Fofan…
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Sign inParis Saint-Germain begin their Ligue 1 title defence on 23 August 2026 against Rennes at the Parc des Princes, aiming to move on quickly from a flurry of pre-season disruption. The champions will be without left-back Nuno Mendes, sent off in the Champions’ Trophy defeat to Lens, while Rennes arrive missing suspended midfielder Mahdi Camara and injured goalkeeper Nicolas Lemaitre.
Luis Enrique’s side fell 1–0 to Lens in the Champions’ Trophy on 16 August, despite dominating possession. Mendes was dismissed in the 87th minute for an off-the-ball elbow, leaving PSG with ten men before Florian Thauvin’s first-half goal decided the trophy. The subsequent suspension rules the Portugal defender out of the Rennes fixture, forcing a reshuffle at the back — Lucas Digne, who made his second club debut in that match, is expected to start on the left.
Enrique also confirmed new signing Ferran Torres will be available after missing the Lens game through registration timing. The Spaniard, who scored the winner in the World Cup final, gives PSG another option in an already crowded attack that includes Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Uncertainty hangs over Bradley Barcola, widely linked with a move away and omitted from the squad for the Champions’ Trophy.
Franck Haise’s Rennes travel to the capital without two important figures. Camara is suspended while goalkeeper Lemaitre is sidelined through injury, thinning the spine of a side that finished sixth last season. Brice Samba is the probable starter in goal, with recent recruit Charlie Cresswell adding steel to the back line.
Rennes can draw on the memory of a 3-1 win in this fixture in February 2026, when Musa Al-Taamari, Esteban Lepaul and Breel Embolo scored at the Parc des Princes. That result highlighted the brittleness PSG occasionally suffer against aggressive counter-attacks, a pattern Rennes will look to repeat on the opening night of the new campaign.
PSG have had only two full summer friendlies — a 3–0 loss to Mallorca and a 1–1 draw with Manchester United — before the Champions’ Trophy. The late return of several internationals after the World Cup meant a disjointed build-up, yet the core of Enrique’s squad is intact. Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos and Vitinha are all expected to line up from the start, while teenage forward Ibrahim Mbaye could feature again after a promising campaign.
PSG (4-3-3): Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Digne; Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves; Doué, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia. Rennes (3-4-2-1): Samba; Nagida, Brassier, Rouault; Merlin, Rongier, Soumaré, Nordin; Szymański, Al-Taamari; Lepaul. Lineups based on early projections; Camara’s absence may push Valentin Rongier into the midfield pivot.
With the front three likely to rotate fluidly, Doué’s movement between the lines will be a focal point for PSG. Lilian Brassier, Rennes’ left-sided centre-back, impressed last season with his one-on-one defending and will need to keep tight on the 21-year-old’s quick turns. If Doué finds space, he can exploit the gaps behind Rennes’ wing-backs.
After the Parc des Princes curtain-raiser, PSG travel to face promoted Paris FC in a derby that will be another gauge of how the post-World Cup squad is gelling. Rennes host Toulouse searching for a home win to capitalise on any early slip from the champions.
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