Luis Enrique insisted Paris Saint-Germain will not take their upcoming Ligue 1 fixture against Lens lightly, despite their perfect start to the season.
The reigning French champions have enjoyed a winning start to their title defence, following up 1-0 wins over Nantes and Angers with a 6-3 victory against Toulouse.
PSG often rotated their side ahead of Champions League fixtures last season, but they cannot afford to make too many changes against a Lens side who have won two of their three opening games.
After an international break, during which both Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue sustained injuries, Luis Enrique is excited to be back at Parc des Princes.
"I am happy to be back at home here in Paris, and to get back to work," the PSG head coach said. "We know that it's always difficult after an international break, but we have worked well and will be ready to face Lens.
"We aren't worried about the matches that are coming, just purely on the next one and, in this case, Lens. But above all, we are happy to be back with our supporters.
"We need to be careful and not get distracted. Lens are a good team, with a new coach since the start of the season, and he is a very good coach. We know that they play good football, but it's always a source of motivation to play against a team like Lens."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Paris Saint-Germain – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
PSG will be playing without Dembele and Doue for the first time since the start of the previous season.
Kvaratskhelia, who scored twice for Georgia during the international break, will be hoping to use this upcoming match as a chance to get on the scoresheet at club level for the first time this season.
Lens – Odsonne Edouard
Lens' new signing Edouard, formerly of PSG, will return to Ligue 1 eight years after leaving.
He scored 66 goals in 116 Scottish Premiership games with Celtic, and 18 in 100 Premier League matches (96 with Crystal Palace, 4 with Leicester City).
MATCH PREDICTION – PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN WIN
It could another high-scoring affair for Luis Enrique's side as Lens (54) and PSG (52) are the only two teams to have reached the 50-shot milestone in Ligue 1 this season.
They are also the only two sides to have recorded at least 100 touches in the opposite box (123 for PSG and 115 for Lens).
PSG have found the net in each of their last 34 home matches in Ligue 1, and will equal their longest such streak in the French top-flight (35 between January 2013 and December 2014) if they score again.
The reigning champions are also unbeaten in their last nine home matches against Lens in Ligue 1 (six wins, three draws) after losing the previous five.
However, Lens have lost only four away games in Ligue 1 since the start of last season (nine wins, five draws), the second-lowest tally behind PSG (one) among ever-present teams in the top flight during this period.
Lens have also won their last two Ligue 1 games (2-1 against Le Havre, and 3-1 against Brest), but have not won three in a row since doing so between January and February 2024.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Paris Saint-Germain – 67.1%
Draw – 17.4%
Lens – 15.4%
ihabib299
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Get well soon doue