French Ligue 1 - Monaco v Nice
Sep 23The Paris Saint-Germain hierarchy must have been hoping that following the signing of Kylian Mbappe's bumper three-year deal over the summer, the club could fully focus on defending their Ligue 1 title and, more importantly, capturing that elusive Champions League.
However, Tuesday's bombshell revelation - just 143 days after the signing of that new contract - that the 23-year-old wants to leave in January has created unwanted headlines.
Let's get into why the France World Cup winner is unhappy as PSG look to maintain their slender one-point lead at the summit from surprise package Lorient when Christophe Galtier's men host Marseille in Sunday evening's Le Classique, exclusively live on BT Sport.
Will unhappy Mbappe let his head drop?
Mbappe feels that PSG have not kept their word.
On agreeing to extend his stay in the French capital - and ending speculation of a move to Real Madrid - Julien Laurens revealed that the forward was promised a role at the centre of PSG's project, a new striker to play off, that Neymar would be sold and that the club would buy a new centre-back.
None of these things have happened, and now Mbappe feels that the best solution for his career is to leave in January.
Who would be able to afford him and where he would fit are two notable stumbling blocks to Mbappe's wish becoming a reality, and in the meantime, he will need to get his head down and continue to deliver.
Since replacing Mauricio Pochettino in July, Galtier has received praise for moulding PSG into a more deadly attacking unit.
Watch highlights: PSG 1-1 Benfica
However, the team has now only scored five times in as many matches and drawn their last three games.
Having missed their two recent encounters against Reims and Benfica with a calf problem, it's touch-and-go whether Lionel Messi will return, but his fitness is a secondary story to the future of the man 12 years his junior.
Mbappe did score from the spot against Benfica last night from the spot, but his strike rate has slowed in recent weeks.
Can he produce fireworks in the hottest rivalry in French football?
Can Marseille recover from shock loss?
Not many fans of Les Olympiens would have expected their team to be unbeaten nine games into the league season and on PSG's coat-tails.
By the same token, few could have expected that fantastic start to the campaign to be dented by newly promoted strugglers Ajaccio as a stunning strike from Bevic Moussiti-Oko and an excruciating own goal from Leonardo Balerdi stunned the Stade Velodrome.
With PSG off-form and perhaps unsettled by Mbappe talk however, Igor Tudor will feel his side can spring a surprise.
Marseille have given their wealthier rivals a tough time in recent years and will want to repeat the 1-0 win achieved in Paris two years ago as Dimitri Payet's free-kick picked out Florian Thauvin.
Payet is still producing magical moments now (at the age of 35), and you wouldn't put it past him to come up with the goods on Sunday.
Four Ligue 1 clubs wield managerial axe
Lyon, Auxerre, Brest and Reims have all taken the decision in recent days to sack their manager.
The writing had been on the wall for Peter Bosz.
An eighth-placed finish in his season in charge of Lyon last term can't have been the campaign the Dutchman had envisaged, and four defeats on the bounce heading into last Friday's meeting with Toulouse was the club's worst Ligue 1 run since 1991.
Despite stopping the rot with 1-1 draw, Bosz lost his job on Sunday, with former Bordeaux, France and PSG manager Laurent Blanc replacing him.
Auxerre's return to France's top table after a 10-year absence has been challenging and having taken just one point from their last six games, Jean-Marc Furlan was dispensed of his services after more than three years in charge.
There had been hopes at Brest that Michel Der Zakarian would replicate his side's impressive 2021/22 finish of 11th, but they currently sit rock bottom amid a seven-match winless run, with the final straw proving to be the squandering of 1-0 lead against Lorient to lose 2-1.
It's rare for a manager's tenure to end with a 0-0 draw against PSG, but that is the fate that has befallen Oscar Garcia, whose Reims side are currently 15th.
Garcia took over in the summer of 2021 and guided the Red and Whites to 12th in his debut campaign at the helm, but his only win this season came in August at Angers and that shortage of victories is what seems to have led to his dismissal on Thursday.
Moffi tied with Mbappe and Neymar
While it is completely unsurprising to see Mbappe and Neymar leading the 2022/23 Ligue 1 scoring charts on eight goals apiece, the presence of Terem Moffi alongside them has raised a few eyebrows.
The Nigeria international scored an eye-catching 14 goals in 32 matches during his debut season in France's top flight in 2020/21.
His form in goal dropped off last term - eight goals in 37 games - but he is on fire under new Lorient boss Regis Le Bris, who has taken the unfashionable side from Brittany up to second after 10 games, just one point off PSG.
Lorient's next assignment comes in the form of Folarin Balogun's Reims, who lie 15th.
Don't be surprised if, by Saturday evening, Moffi has left Mbappe and Neymar in his wake.
Monaco dream of rejoining UCL elite
After a poor start to the season, Monaco have really started to motor up the Ligue 1 table.
Five straight wins have put Philippe Clement's men fifth, just three points behind Marseille, who occupy the third and final Champions League qualification place.
Left-back Caio Henrique has already provided five assists, while Breel Embolo has proved an inspired signing and Wissam Ben Yedder has five goals already in October across all competitions following a steady start to the campaign.
Monaco are backed by billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, who has been known to generously dip his hands in his pockets during the transfer window since becoming the majority owner and president of the club in 2011.
Since last qualifying for the Champions League in 2018/19, Rybolovlev has wielded the axe five times, including sacking Leonardo Jardim twice. Could Clement be the man to guide the Monegasques back to the glory days?
