8′ Having made the first incursion of the game, it has been Marseille mostly saddled with the defending so far. Mbappe looks lively from out on the centre-left flank, offering plenty of purchase for PSG.
6′ Di Maria is pinged for a foul on Sakai as the two slide in for the same ball on the edge of the Marseille box. The PSG man can’t believe the foul has gone against him but he definitely got there second.
4′ Both sides showcase some attacking nous in the opening exchanges, pushing into their respective final thirds as they test the defences. PSG come closest as a Kurzawa cross is snaffled by Mandanda.
2′ It is pretty horrible weather in Lens today, with umbrellas littering the two coaching boxes down on the sidelines. Visibility is actually pretty ropey across the pitch; that could make things interesting.
1′ We are underway in the 2020 Trophee des Champions between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille!
The teams are out in Lens and we are moments away from kick-off.
At 33, Payet is reaching the end of his playing days – and this could very well be the last-chance saloon for him. Marseille haven’t won a trophy since the 2011–12 Coupe de la Ligue; many of their players have never claimed silverware. They should be up for this.
Subs: Leonardo Balerdi, Morgan Sanson, Dario Benedetto, Yohann Pele, Michael Cuisance, Marley Ake, Saif-Eddine Khaoui, Valere Germain, Pol Lirola.
MARSEILLE (4-3-3): Steve Mandanda; Hiroki Sakai, Alvaro Gonzalez, Duje Caleta-Car, Yuto Nagatomo; Valentin Rongier, Boubacar Kamara, Pape Gueye; Florian Thauvin, Dimitri Payet, Nemanja Radonjic.
Subs: Presnel Kimpembe, Neymar, Danilo Pereira, Sergio Rico, Moise Kean, Pablo Sarabia, Julian Draxler, Mitchel Bakker, Timothee Pembele.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Alessandro Florenzi, Marquinhos, Abdou Diallo, Layvin Kurzawa; Ander Herrera, Marco Verratti, Leandro Paredes; Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi, Kylian Mbappe.
The big news ahead of kick-off? Neymar is not fit to start today. The Brazilian, who picked up a nasty injury just before Christmas, will be on the bench today. Dimitri Payet – looking for his first piece of silverware with the club he has spent most of his career with – leads the line for Marseille.
But standing in their way is the side who handed them their last defeat in the Trophee des Champions, back in 2010. Marseille emerged as penalty shootout victors then – and Andre Villas-Boas would love to replicate the feat here.
No matter the venue however – be it Canada, China or Pas-de-Calais – PSG will have their eye on the prize. They’ve won this match every year since 2013 and are yet to relinquish their hold. For newly minted manager Mauricio Pochettino, it’s an early chance to notch an honour in his belt.
But alas, Covid-19 has put paid to preliminary plans to be on the road once again, in Abidjan or Minneapolis. So too has the third host city of Bordeuax missed out for some reason – we’re behind closed doors instead at a stadium which has the rare distinction of being bigger than the actual city it is in.
For another, we’re actually in France for the match, specifically Pas-de-Calais. You’ve got to go back to 2008 to find the last time this match was actually played on home soil; since then, it has been played as a pre-season tour game, bolstering profiles around the globe.
It’s the first piece of silverware of the 2020-21 season up for grabs, but with the caveat of a pandemic-induced twist. For one, we’re into 2021, despite the fact this is the 2020 edition of France’s domestic super cup clash.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2020 Trophee des Champions as Ligue 1 and Coupe de France holders Paris Saint-Germain face off with last season’s league runners-up Marseille at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens.
