Warren Zaire-Emery celebrates scoring against Montpellier in PSG’s most recent Ligue 1 outing (FRANCK FIFE)
Paris Saint-Germain travel to Reims on Saturday in a top-of-the-table showdown, providing the perfect setting for Warren Zaire-Emery to stake a claim for a starting berth 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 captain of the French under-21 side has been the undeniable break-out star of Ligue 1 this term, making his name one of the first on Luis Enrique’s team sheet for every match.
Should the PSG midfield dynamo feature against Gibraltar or Greece, he will become the youngest French international since before World War I.
As Zaire-Emery has matured, so have PSG come into fine form in Ligue 1 in recent weeks and they go into the weekend one point off top with four victories in their last five outings.
However, they will need to bounce back from a poor midweek display in the Champions League 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 goalscorer Kylian Mbappe, but Reims have shipped only five goals at home this term.
The side from the Champagne region have quietly worked their way up to fourth in the table this season under coach Will Still and have won four of their last six matches.
– Nice lead –
Ahead of PSG by one point, Nice will have the chance to widen this gap when they make their way along the south coast to Montpellier on Friday.
Nice have been scintillating since the start of September, only dropping points once in a 0-0 draw against Brest.
Montpellier have been up-and-down all season, collecting just 11 points from their 10 encounters this season.
They have had a difficult start to November, now taking on Nice immediately after last Friday’s comprehensive 3-0 defeat away to PSG.
Marseille have been under the microscope in recent weeks after the stoning of Lyon’s team bus, injuring coach Fabio Grosso, and an insipid 0-0 draw last weekend at home to Lille.
Desperate for some positives on the pitch, they travel away from the Velodrome this Sunday to face Champions League outfit Lens.
One place separates the two sides in the table, but Lens will now go into the fixture needing a confidence boost after Wednesday’s defeat to PSV Eindhoven meant they slipped out of the qualifying spots for the knock-out stages.
One to watch: Ousmane Dembele
The PSG forward may have turned a page last weekend with his glittering performance against Montpellier, where he provided one assist and was a constant thorn in the opposition’s side.
After arriving in the summer from Barcelona for 50 million euros ($53 million), French international Dembele has not set Ligue 1 alight, contributing zero goals in 10 appearances.
After a largely anonymous showing midweek against AC Milan, a return to league action alongside a goal-hungry Mbappe and a Zaire-Emery bursting with confidence could be the perfect storm to get him ticking again.
Key stats
3 – Warren Zaire-Emery, aged 17 years and 255 days, would become the third youngest player to represent France if he features against Gibraltar, according to Opta statisticians.
25 – The number of points Nice have after 11 matches this term, the second highest total they have enjoyed at this stage of a season in 45 years.
Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Montpellier v Nice (2000)
Saturday
Reims v Paris Saint-Germain (1600), Le Havre v Monaco (2000)
Sunday
Clermont v Lorient, Lille v Toulouse, Metz v Nantes (all 1400), Rennes v Lyon (1605), Lens v Marseille (1945)
Thursday, December 7
Brest v Strasbourg (1930) — rescheduled due to weather
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