PSG vs Monaco is the standout fixture of Ligue 1‘s third round, and it arrives with an unfamiliar table in front of it. Paris Saint-Germain, back-to-back champions of Europe, have taken two points from two games. AS Monaco have taken six from six and sit top. Kick-off at the Parc des Princes is Friday 4 September, 20:05 UK time (21:05 CET).
It is also the first time this season Les Parisiens play in front of their own supporters.
Why Monaco arrive in the better form
Monaco are the only side in Ligue 1 with a 100% record after two rounds, and Get French Football News report that manager Filipe Luís has pointed to PSG’s physical condition at this stage of the season as a genuine reason for optimism. Luís has form here too: he was the Flamengo manager who surprised Paris at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025.
Paris, meanwhile, have drawn both league games — 2-2 away at Rennes on the opening weekend, then 2-2 at Lille, where Marquinhos rescued a point with the last touch of the match. Two late equalisers on two away trips is not a crisis for back-to-back European champions who lifted the UEFA Super Cup last month. It is the kind of start that makes a September visit from the league leaders feel bigger than it should.
Team news: what we know, and what we don’t
The obvious storyline is Maghnes Akliouche, who joined PSG from Monaco this summer for €50m and now faces his former club in his first home league game as a Parisian.
On the Monaco side, deadline day left a mark. Lamine Camara‘s move to Chelsea collapsed at the last, and Luís said the Senegal international was “probably affected” by it — while confirming he will still play a part on Friday. GFFN also expect the returning Matthis Abline to be involved.
PSG’s own window was quiet by comparison. Bradley Barcola left for Liverpool, Ibrahim Mbaye joined Aston Villa and Renato Sanches departed by mutual consent — but none of the three had played a minute this season, and every exit had been signposted for weeks.
As for Ousmane Dembélé: the Ballon d’Or winner was left out at Lille, and PSG Talk reported on 1 September that he had been given a week off and was due back in training that Monday. Luis Enrique has not named a starting XI and no injury has been announced — treat anything more specific than that as speculation until the club says otherwise.
The tactical question
Monaco will not sit in, and PSG’s 4-3-3 under Luis Enrique is built to invite a press and play through it — Vitinha and João Neves rotating in front of the back four, Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi pushed high, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia isolating a full-back.
The two draws suggest game management, not creation, is the issue: Paris have led and been pegged back rather than failed to score. At the Parc, with a crowd behind them, that should be an easier problem to solve.
PSG vs Monaco prediction
GFFN’s own predictions competition has both of its writers going for a draw — Luke Entwistle calling 1-1, Bastien Cheval 2-2. That is how the fixture is being read from the outside: Monaco capable of taking something, Paris still the better team.
Our view is that the Parc changes the maths. Friday is the first night Paris get to set the tone at home as two-star European champions. Monaco are good enough to make it uncomfortable; not good enough to make it easy for themselves.
PSG vs Monaco: the essentials
- Fixture: Paris Saint-Germain v AS Monaco, Ligue 1 Round 3
- Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
- Kick-off: Friday 4 September, 20:05 UK / 21:05 CET
- Form: PSG two draws from two; Monaco two wins from two and top of the table
- Storyline: Akliouche faces his former club days after a €50m move
Broadcast arrangements vary by territory, so check your local Ligue 1 rights holder. For the group Luis Enrique picks from, see our full PSG squad list for 2026/27.
Fixture and competition information is published by Ligue 1 and Paris Saint-Germain.
