3 main talking point ahead of PSG's Ligue 1 game against Brest

PSG is set to face Stade Brestois at the Stade Francis Le Blé on Matchday 9 of the Ligue 1 McDonald's. After a convincing victory against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League mid-week, Luis Enrique and his team will look to carry their impressive European form in the domestic competion after failing to secure a win in their last two Ligue 1 outings against Lille and Strasbourg.

The European Champions now found themselves at the second spot in the league, just one point behind their rivals Olympique de Marseille who is facing RC Lens this weekend.

Three key talking points ahead of PSG vs Brest

1. Will Zabarnyi start after his disaterclass or will Marquinhos return to action?

Coming out of their impressive and dominant victory over Leverkusen, the only point of concern was Illia Zabarnyi's worrying performance. The Ukraine international gave away two penalties and was sent off after 37 minutes. It was his worse performance since joining the club this summer and showcased how much he still had to do to fit into a side that won the Treble last season.

With Marquinhos making his return from injury, he will likely see his minutes on the pitch reduced as the Brazil international form an exceptional partnership with Willian Pacho. For the upcoming match against Brest, Marquinhos should make his return to action and could be associated to Zabarnyi as Luis Enrique might look to give him some confidence back after his poor mid-week performance.

2. Should Ousmane Dembélé start?

The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner made his return to action and his Champions League season debut against Leverkusen after being sidelined for over a month due to a muscular injury sustained with the national team. In his first 30 minutes on the pitch, the Frenchman managed to score his first European goal of the season and looked sharp.

Therefore he could be given a starting spot against Brest this weekend as Paris is expected to win, but would it be wise? Désiré Doué was given a start by Luis Enrique on his first game back from injury, but Dembélé's injury was more serious and the coaching staff will be expected to be very cautious with his workload in the upcoming weeks as PSG prepares to face tough opponents, including Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Gonçalo Ramos will certainly start against Brest after staying on the bench against Leverkusen with Ousmane Dembélé coming in the second half to earn some minutes and ramp up his fitness before the clash against Bayern Munich.

3. Can PSG carry their Champions League form to Ligue 1?

The Parisians have been plagued with injuries in recent weeks, this situation led Luis Enrique to give their chance to some PSG Academy players such as Quentin Ndjantou and also impacted their Ligue 1 campaign as they failed to secured victories in their last two domestic league games against Lille and Strasbourg, losing the top spot to Marseille in Ligue 1.

However, in this period, Luis Enrique and his side put in dominant performance in the Champions League against Barcelona, Atalanta and more recently Leverkusen. With the return of several players from injury, Paris should be able to carry their European form into the domestic