PSG-Barcelona: without Nuno Mendes, PSG look for a left back to face Lamine Yamal

PSG won 3-1 at Strasbourg on Saturday, but they finished the game with ten men. Brought on in the 53rd minute for Lucas Digne, Nuno Mendes went straight down the tunnel before the final whistle, a left thigh problem the reason. On Saturday evening the talk was still of a niggle nobody took seriously. Sunday’s club statement made heavier reading: a “lesion to the left thigh” and a player “unavailable for the coming weeks”, with no exact timeline.

On Tuesday (9pm at the Parc des Princes), PSG host Barcelona on matchday three of the Champions League, between two teams on two wins. Paris put six past Slovan Bratislava and won 4-2 at Manchester City; Barça beat Feyenoord 5-1 then won 4-1 at Galatasaray. The left side of the Paris defence is where Lamine Yamal will look for his duel first.

Four options, none obvious

• Lucas Digne, the natural deputy: 247 minutes in five appearances since his move from Aston Villa, without convincing;
• Lucas Hernandez, the more defensive profile, but a speed deficit that hurts against Yamal; he played the full 90 minutes at Strasbourg, at centre back;
• Lucas Beraldo, who has already filled in on that flank, and no more than that;
• Warren Zaïre-Emery or João Neves, midfielders dropped into the role: the “poker move” of the press coverage, with both usually back-ups to Achraf Hakimi on the other flank.

RMC Sport and Foot Mercato also point to doubling up on Yamal and constant cover from Willian Pacho towards his full back.

Vitinha paid the tribute at his press conference: “We are facing one of the best players in the world, and what he is doing right now is incredible. He is an exceptional player.”

The Catalan press looks at Paris with a different worry. Mundo Deportivo ran the headline “A Paris in flames awaits Barça” after the violence of 17 October in the capital. Barring the unexpected, the game is not expected to be postponed: around 2,200 Barcelona supporters are expected, and the match has not been classed as high risk by the authorities.

The “coming weeks” of the club statement stretch beyond Tuesday. On Saturday, PSG host Lyon, the Ligue 1 leaders, level with Paris on 14 points. The left back question will come round again.