Football Season Guide

PSG are coming off the back of a historic season but there is still some doubt as to how they will be able to back that up after a protracted campaign that means they are coming into this term without a pre-season. Luis Enrique’s side impressed as they went all the way in the Champions League, winning the trophy with a record 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the final. The panache and excitement that PSG brought to the game at the top level of European football won over many neutrals and has ensured they go into this campaign regarded as one of the most watchable teams in the world. Of course, PSG sauntered to the Ligue 1 title last season. With their rivals inconsistent, it allowed Les Parisiens to rotate at will – and in any case, they were far superior to many of their rivals. They will expect a sterner challenge this time around from the likes of Monaco and Marseille. It looks like the squad that PSG are going to take into this campaign with more-or-less the same one that ended last term. There will be a change in goal with Lucas Chevalier set to step in after disruption behind the scenes caused by Gigio Donnarumma, who was clutch in the Champions League but surprisingly average otherwise. This is unlikely be a change to cause big problems. Ilya Zabarnyi is expected to arrive from Bournemouth to bolster the defence, which does look like it could be short of depth, particularly at right-back where Achraf Hakimi was stellar last season. Otherwise, it’s the core of the same team. This may not necessarily be a good thing. PSG played at a ridiculous intensity last season with a high volume of games stretching 11 months. Everyone knows what to expect of them this season and will have looked at ways of breaking them – probably mirroring Chelsea’s Club World Cup performance. Fatigue and injuries are likely to be more of a problem than they were last term, and that adds up to a more complicated campaign.