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– 1,200km away, Barca start new era –
Meanwhile, French media speculated over who in the expensively-assembled PSG team will make way for Neymar.
Le Parisien suggested it will be Javier Pastore, the Argentine star who was the first major signing after PSG were bought by their ambitious Qatari owners.
“After first giving up his No.10 shirt, will he (Pastore) now give him (Neymar) his place in the team?” Le Parisien asked of the player who took up the No.10 shirt after Zlatan Ibrahimovic left for Manchester United last season, only to hand it to the Brazilian this summer.
“Neymar will start on the left at the expense of Pastore.”
Sports daily L’Equipe saw things differently, though.
“A trio of Neymar, Pastore and Angel di Maria will support (striker) Ederson Cavani,” predicted L’Equipe.
The match in Guingamp kicks-off at 1900GMT.
An hour later, and around 1,200km further south, Barcelona will start their first competitive match without Neymar by facing bitter rivals Real Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
Barca’s scattergun approach to finding a replacement for Neymar has so far been unsuccessful with bids for Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele of Borussia Dortmund rebuffed.
Gerard Deulofeu was handed Neymar’s role alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez up front in Monday’s 5-0 friendly win over Chapecoense on his return to the club after spells at Everton and AC Milan.
And while he’s not a like-for-like replacement, Spanish press claim former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho, a Brazil international, is on the verge of a 40-million-euro move to Barca from China’s Guangzhou Evergrande.
