Auxerre hosts Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps in Ligue 1 on Friday, and PSG is dealing with a serious roster squeeze. Seven players are sidelined for the game, including Quentin Ndjantou, Lee Kang-In, Joao Neves and Matvey Safonov who are recovering from injuries, while Fabian Ruiz is rested due to a knock sustained against Sporting Lisbon. That's a lot of firepower missing when PSG needs it most.
Just three days after a defeat in Lisbon against Sporting CP in the Champions League, PSG must travel to Auxerre, and Luis Enrique faces a very high number of absences with only one return in the person of Mbaye. The defending champions bounced back domestically with a 3-0 home win over Lille where Ousmane Dembélé bagged a brace, while Bradley Barcola scored, but the 2-1 away loss to Sporting in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday clearly stung. Confidence matters in football, and bouncing back from a European loss on a short week is always tricky.
PSG sits second in the league table with 42 points, while Auxerre sits 17th in the standings with 12 points, the same as last-placed Metz. Luis Enrique and his side will have a golden opportunity to take back the top spot of Ligue 1 with the leaders RC Lens taking on third-place Marseille. A victory here could be massive for PSG's title hopes. On the flip side, Auxerre have seen a drop in form, winning just one of their last 14 games in all competitions and have lost their two games in 2026, failing to score in both. On paper, this looks like a mismatch. But in football, injuries can shift the entire dynamic. PSG's depth will be tested against a struggling side looking to turn things around at home.