PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain warm up for their Champions League last-16 showdown with Chelsea by once again taking on Monaco on Friday, as coach Luis Enrique looked forward to “the best part of the season” starting.
PSG have not managed to rediscover the exhilarating form that led them to Champions League glory for the first time in their history last season, but they come into March still on course to retain their French and European titles.
Chelsea visit the Parc des Princes next Wednesday in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Europe, which will be the first meeting of the teams since last July’s Club World Cup final in which PSG lost 3-0.
Luis Enrique’s side reached the Champions League last 16 with a nervy 5-4 aggregate win over Monaco in last month’s play-off round, and now they take on the principality side in Ligue 1 in what will be the clubs’ third meeting in two and a half weeks.
Despite rarely finding their flowing best and being without last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele for much of the campaign due to injury, PSG come into Friday’s game four points clear of nearest rivals Lens at the top of the French table.
A 1-0 success away at Le Havre last weekend made it nine wins in their last 10 Ligue 1 games, while Lens have lost momentum in collecting a single point from their last two matches.
“The best part of the season is beginning. We can’t wait,” Luis Enrique told reporters on Thursday.
“Monaco were in the Champions League, so this will be like a Champions League game,” added the Spaniard.
“We have had lots of difficulties in the domestic league and we know how difficult the Champions League is, but we are happy with the position we are in.”

- Dembele back -

The games against Chelsea will be PSG’s 13th and 14th matches against Premier League opposition since the beginning of last season.
Dembele looks set to feature in those games having been named in the squad to play Monaco — he has started only 14 of his club’s 39 matches this season to date.
“It is always good when a player comes back,” said the coach of Dembele, who took part in training with the rest of the team on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, midfield duo Joao Neves (ankle) and Fabian Ruiz (knee) are out of the Monaco encounter and it remains to be seen if either returns in time to face Chelsea.
Monaco, who beat PSG at home in the league in November, are fighting for European qualification and come into the weekend in seventh place, three points behind Lille in fifth, which brings with it a Europa League berth.

Player to watch: Joaquin Panichelli
The Argentine striker continues his quest to secure a place in his country’s squad for the World Cup having scored in each of Strasbourg’s last four games in all competitions.
Three of those goals have been penalties, including in Tuesday’s 2-1 French Cup quarter-final win over Reims.
Panichelli, 23, has 17 goals in all competitions in his debut season with Strasbourg, who visit Auxerre on Saturday. Argentina are due to play Spain later this month in the Finalissima, a one-off game between the champions of Europe and South America.

Key stats
100 — Friday’s game will be the 100th top-flight meeting of PSG and Monaco. The principality club’s US national team star Folarin Balogun is set to make his 100th Ligue 1 appearance.
23 — Toulouse have not won any of their last 23 league games against Marseille.
12 — Bottom club Metz go to Lens having won the last meeting of the sides, but they have not won any of their last 12 Ligue 1 matches.

Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Paris Saint-Germain v Monaco (1945)

Saturday
Nantes v Angers (1600), Auxerre v Strasbourg (1800), Toulouse v Marseille (2005)

Sunday
Lens v Metz (1400), Brest v Le Havre, Lille v Lorient, Nice v Rennes (all 1615), Lyon v Paris FC (1945)