Having slipped up in the opening fixture against Reims, the reigning Ligue 1 champions will attempt to make amends with a resounding triumph over Bastia. Les Bleus arrive at Parc des Princes buoyed by the 3-3 draw against Marseille, having come from two goals behind to earn one point.

Zlatan hero and villain against Reims

After winning the Ligue 1 title in style and again reaching the final stages of the Champions League, it was more about keeping hold of the current crop of players than recruiting new signings. The club management seem to have done a very good job as all key footballers remained at Parc des Princes, while David Luiz and Serge Aurier were recruited to make the back line even stronger. The Saints started the season well, defeating Guingamp in the French Super Cup match, but they had to settle for a 2-2 draw in their opening league fixture against Reims. Zlatan Ibrahimovic continued his scoring form by netting both goals for his side, but he also missed a penalty and an open goal, so not everything was peachy for the Swede. As a result, the striker and his teammates are likely to be very motivated to return to the right track, but their shaky defence could experience problems against counter-attacking Bastia, especially now that Thiago Silva has picked up a fresh injury. Even so, the hosts are hot favourites to claim maximum points in the first match of the season in front of home fans.

Thiago Silva and Adrien Rabiot miss out through injury, but Edison Cavani should be fit to play after shaking off a foot problem.

Makelele returns to Parc des Princes

New Bastia coach Claude Makelele will have a special motivation when his side face Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, having ended his playing days at Parc des Princes before working as an assistant coach under Carlo Ancelotti. And while les Bleus may be the underdogs here, they have plenty of reason for optimism, especially after such a good performance against Marseille last weekend. Having finished the previous campaign in top 10, Bastia recruited several very good players this summer, such as Brandao, Areola, Gillet, Ayite and Maboulou, and the new recruits seem to have already adapted to the new surroundings. All of them played an important role as les Bleus came from two goals down to earn a 3-3 draw against Marseille, completely outclassing their more illustrious opponents in the second period. The likes of Maboulou, Ayite, Boudebouz and Brandao should have plenty of space to exploit against attack-minded Paris Saint-Germain, which means Bastia can be backed to score at least one goal at Parc des Princes.

Claude Makelele has no fresh injury worries and is widely expected to stick to the same team that faced Marseille last weekend.

Verdict

Paris Saint-Germain will not have an easy task against counter-attacking Bastia, and their weak back line is likely to struggle without Thiago Silva. Les Bleus have plenty of quality up front and they can be trusted to score, but PSG should ultimately record a much needed triumph.

Top pick: Both teams to score   2.45 (29/20) @ Unibet

Alternative pick 1: PSG/PSG   1.57 (4/7) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Home win + both teams to score   3.20 (11/5) @ Ladbrokes