By Betsefy
Paris Saint-Germain attacker Neymar will be aiming to end a scoreless record against Brest when Les Pirates make the journey to the Parc des Princes in Saturday’s Ligue 1 clash.
The 30-year-old has started the new season in magnificent fashion for Christophe Galtier‘s side, registering nine goals and seven assists from eight games in Ligue 1, the Champions League and the Trophee des Champions.
Neymar has 13 goal contributions to boast from six Ligue 1 games – seven strikes and six assists – and he continues to thrive as part of a front three with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Having been rested from the first whistle against Nantes, Neymar returned to the first XI to assist Mbappe’s opener against Juventus in his side’s opening Champions League win in midweek.
Galtier must decide whether to field the Brazil international from the off or preserve him for Wednesday’s trip to Maccabi Haifa, but the attacker is out to end a personal scoreless run this weekend.
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Incredibly, Neymar has managed to register a goal or assist versus every side he has played against in Ligue 1 except Brest, whom he has actually only ever faced once in his career.
The 30-year-old’s solitary appearance against Les Pirates came on the final matchday of the 2020-21 season, where he played the full 90 minutes but could not contribute to that 2-0 win.
An ankle injury had rendered Neymar unavailable for the home clash with Brest earlier that year, while he was absent from an away win in the curtailed 2019-20 season due to a hamstring issue.
PSG also beat Brest in the fourth round of the Coupe de France in 2020-21, but Neymar also missed that clash due to an adductor issue, and he was not available for either fixture last year.
A lack of fitness in the wake of the Copa America prevented the ex-Barcelona man from featuring in a 4-2 away win during the third gameweek of the season, and PSG’s most recent clash with Brest – a 2-0 victory at the Parc des Princes in January – saw Les Parisiens win without Neymar, who was nursing another ankle injury at the time.
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Neymar – who sits joint-top of the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts with seven strikes alongside Mbappe – has now tallied 109 goals and 67 assists in 152 games for PSG across all tournaments since arriving in 2017.
The South American could become a victim of rotation, though, as Galtier hinted in his pre-match press conference that changes would be made for the clash with Michel Der Zakarian‘s side.
“I don’t really like the term turnover. We need freshness. I have a quality squad. After that, some players, like [Fabian] Ruiz or [Carlos] Soler, lack experience because they joined us late,” Galtier told reporters.
“Tomorrow (Saturday), it won’t be the same XI as against Juventus or the same one as in Haifa next Wednesday. We have to rotate the team to manage the physical conditions and make sure that everyone is involved.”
PSG sit at the top of the Ligue 1 table with 16 points after six matches, although they are only ahead of Marseille on goal difference.
