Paris Saint-Germain will be bidding to progress to the fourth round of the Coupe de France when they travel to Stade Gaston Petit to face Saudi-owned, third-tier relegation battlers Chateauroux on Friday night.
PSG started the year in a humiliating fashion as they suffered the first defeat of the season in Ligue 1, a 3-1 loss at the hands of second-placed Lens on Sunday. Les Parisiens struggled to find their rhythm in the final third without the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Superstars Kylian Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi, Messi and Neymar are unlikely to feature in this cup tie despite being available for the contest. Instead, a largely second-string side will take to the field to take on Chateauroux this week as PSG boss Christophe Galtier looks to rest majority of his big-hitters.
However, after losing to Lens, the PSG's head coach is unlikely to allow other players any breathing space as he will be keen to get back to winning ways and resume the normal service of domestic dominance.
While the hosts will be looking to cause a massive upset in the competition, the talent gap between these two teams is immense, and one can only envisage a one-way traffic for the visitors, regardless of who Galtier sends out on Friday.
Chateauroux are not even among the better teams in France's third division, currently languishing in the relegation zone with only four wins out of 16 matches played so far.
They are likely to struggle in their attempts to go toe-to-toe with PSG, and it would be one of the biggest giant-killings in French football history if they can pull off an upset here.
Chateauroux vs PSG confirmed lineups
Chateauroux XI (4-3-3): Delecroix; Ahoussou, Youssouf, Ouaneh, Fouda; Basque, Viltard, Mexique; Bianchini, Roux, Ntolla
Paris Saint-Germain XI (4-3-1-2): Navas; Mukiele, Marquinhos, Bitshiabu, Bernat; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Gharbi; Soler; Sarabia, Ekitike
Chateauroux vs PSG LIVE updates
PSG's upcoming fixtures
After facing the Championnat National outfit in Coupe de France, Galtier and co will return to Ligue 1 action as they welcome bottom-placed Angers to Parc des Princes in what should be another walk in the park, followed by a tricky away fixture against High-flying Rennes before concluding the month of January with a home league match against mid-table club Stade Reims.