Reims welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Stade Auguste Delaune on Saturday, seeking a shock result in round five's Ligue 1 tussle. While the Parisians are favourites to continue their 100% start to the 2024-25 campaign, recent match-ups with this weekend's opponent have not completely gone their way. Although Reims had a false start to the new Ligue 1 season, Luka Elsner's men have accrued seven points from three matches to rise to sixth in the early-season standings. The 42-year-old joined the club from Le Havre in the summer after avoiding immediate relegation for the club he guided to the top division following a 14-year absence and has had a decent-to-good start with the Red and Whites. A 2-0 home loss in round one has been followed by an entertaining 2-2 draw with Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille and a pair of 2-1 wins over Rennes and Nantes. Undoubtedly pivotal to Reims' ongoing form is their goalscoring threat, underscored by scoring two each in the last three fixtures, although they are yet to keep a clean sheet heading into gameweek five. Elsner's men have conceded the first goal in all four Ligue 1 matches this season, a habit that could be detrimental to taking points off PSG for the fourth time in the past five match-ups. While Luis Enrique got the better of this weekend's opponents in 2023-24, the Spaniard also dropped points against Reims in year one, the third time the defending top-flight champions have slipped in the last four meetings between the clubs. The current run — one victory in four against Reims — has followed a spell of five consecutive PSG wins over Les Rouges et Blancs, where the capital club scored 15 times in all competitions without conceding. Since then, Les Parisiens have been held to two draws on their turf and one in Reims; however, the only triumph in that period came at Saturday's venue in a Kylian Mbappe-inspired 3-0 success. With the Frenchman now at Real Madrid, Enrique's team must find other match-winners to decide matches like Saturday's to see off any challenger in Ligue 1 and achieve their Champions League ambition. The season has been perfect, with PSG notching maximum points after four games, scoring 16 times and letting in three before facing their sixth-placed opponents. Nuno Mendes fortuitously continued the French side's 100% start with a late winning goal against Girona in Wednesday's Champions League action, and the capital club aim to notch another success to continue their unblemished campaign. Reims have had six goalscorers this season, with Sergio Akieme, Yaya Fofana, Junya Ito, Oumar Diakite, Marshall Munetsi and Keito Nakamura all finding the back of the net. The hosts could be without the injured quartet of PSG loanee Gabriel Moscardo (groin), Akieme (jaw), Abdoul Kone (hamstring) and Mohammed Daramy (knee). Marco Asensio went off in the opening half of the French giants' Champions League match with Girona with a suspected hamstring injury that could keep the Spaniard out this weekend, thus joining Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Lucas Hernandez (knee) and Goncalo Ramos (ankle) on the sidelines. Gianluigi Donnarumma (thigh) was absent on Wednesday due to an injury sustained last weekend against Brest, and the goalkeeper is touch-and-go for Saturday. Despite firing blanks in Europe, Bradley Barcola (four goals) and Ousmane Dembele (three) should play from the off out wide, possibly flanking Randal Kolo Muani up top. PSG's victory over Girona on Wednesday was ultimately decided by a Paulo Gazzaniga mistake, but they dominated the match with numerous scoring chances. We are backing the Parisians to rediscover their goalscoring touch for a comfortable win at Reims to secure maximum points for the fifth time in Ligue 1 and sixth in all competitions. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here. On the eve of the Reims vs PSG clash, the capital club shared the definitive list of players who will be absent from the game, specifically those currently receiving treatment. As it stands, no fewer than five PSG players are confirmed to miss the match. In a late update, Marco Asensio was added to PSG's medical report after picking up an injury during the midweek Champions League match against Girona. The Spanish playmaker, who had started as a false nine, suffered a “muscle strain in his right thigh” and will be sidelined for the upcoming week. This means Asensio will be absent for the Reims game, alongside Gianluigi Donnarumma, who continues treatment for a thigh issue that arose in the previous weekend's match against Brest. The remaining three absentees are longer-term injuries. Presnel Kimpembe is still working through his performance programme, with hopes of rejoining full training by mid-October, according to Le Parisien. Lucas Hernandez continues his own recovery protocol, and Goncalo Ramos remains in rehabilitation. No PSG players are suspended for the match, while Reims will also be missing at least four players, including Gabriel Moscardo. Luis Enrique often favours rotating his squad following key fixtures, and with standout performances from the likes of Joao Neves and Randal Kolo Muani despite limited game time against Girona in the last Champions League match, they seem strong candidates to feature in the starting XI for this Ligue 1 match. Every player wants to play as many games as possible. That, in a season like the current one, so long and with such a heavy fixture load, is practically impossible, and that is how Luis Enrique sees it. The Paris Saint-Germain coach assured that he will be “unfair” to all his players throughout the season, as they will have to stay on the bench when they would prefer to be on the pitch. “I recognise that in the game against Girona I was unfair to four or five players. I would like to be unfair to many of them. It would mean that they are ready to give a great performance. Is that ugly or beautiful? Well, it's the job of the PSG coach. That's life,” he claimed at the pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Reims. The Spanish coach said he was “lucky that there are two less teams in the championship, so four games less”. “We have to adapt to the demands of the club, I don't have much to say. We will have to adapt to the calendar,” he added. Luis Enrique also spoke about the great form of Achraf, who could be rested this weekend: “In France, do you knock on wood for luck? His performance is at its peak physically and technically. We try to look after our players as well as possible, we have plenty of time to manage personal situations.” Finally, he spoke about Dembele, who was criticised after the missed chances against Girona: “He's like last season: maybe a bit more clinical. But he's always been decisive for us, he has that ability to eliminate opponents uniquely.” Luis Enrique will likely make sweeping changes to the team that recorded a 1-0 victory over FC Girona midweek in the Champions League, with a first start being provided to summer signing Désiré Doué who has so far been limited to involvements off the bench for his new club The injury to Marco Asensio likewise allows Randal Kolo Muani to also make his first start to the season. Lucas Beraldo starts in place of left-back Nuno Mendes who is being rested for this game, while on the other flank, Achraf Hakimi will not make the journey allowing the young Yoram Zague to take his place.  The final swap from the Girona game sees Vitinha dropped to the bench after his return from injury in his place Lee Kang-in will be given a start. The South Korean international has impressed this season during his somewhat limited minutes.  Matvei Safonov; Lucas Beraldo, Willian Pacho, Marquinhos, Yoram Zague; João Neves, Fabián Ruiz, Lee Kang-in, Désiré Doué, Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmané Dembélé. (L’Éq)