Ramos nears PSG return as Sampaoli makes Rennes bow

Paris Saint-Germain hope to have striker Goncalo Ramos available again soon after he returned to training ahead of today’s game against Toulouse, while former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli makes his Ligue 1 return this weekend with Rennes.Bradley Barcola has emerged as PSG’s chief attacking threat this season and is the league’s top scorer with 10 goals, but the lack of a reliable centre-forward remains an issue for Luis Enrique – particularly in the Champions League.While the French champions are six points clear of Monaco in Ligue 1, they languish outside the top 24 in the new single-table format in Europe, with a trip to Bayern Munich coming up next Tuesday. Before that comes the visit of a resurgent Toulouse, winners of their past three games after a rough start to the campaign and the only team to beat PSG in their last 40 league matches.Toulouse beat PSG 3-1 in May to spoil Kylian Mbappe’s final game at the Parc des Princes, albeit with the title long since wrapped up by that stage. It was hoped Ramos, who scored 14 times overall last season, would establish himself as the spearhead of the PSG attack, but he went down with ankle ligament damage in the opening day win over Le Havre in August."He’s in the final phase of his recovery. When will he be available? I don’t know, I’ll see him at training. He’s doing very well already. He just needs to sharpen up so he can play in matches,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.One player who did not feature in the international break was winger Ousmane Dembele who left the France training camp with a hamstring issue, but he is expected to return for PSG. "In theory, it was nothing serious. I don’t think it was a big issue and these things happen during the season,” Luis Enrique said. "It is normal with such a busy schedule, he should be available to play.”Defender Nuno Mendes suffered a sprained ankle playing for Portugal and while Luis Enrique said it was also not serious, he was still unsure if he would be fit to face Bayern.Monaco could slice the gap at the top in half if they beat fellow Champions League participants Brest earlier on Friday, while Marseille must bounce back from a disheartening home defeat by Auxerre. "If I’m the problem, I’m ready to leave. I’ll leave the money and hand back my contract,” raged Marseille coach Roberto de Zerbi after their 3-1 loss to the promoted side a fortnight ago.Lens host Marseille tomorrow before Lyon, who face a transfer ban and have been threatened with relegation over the club’s debts, bid to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches.Sampaoli, a 2015 Copa America winner with Chile who spent 16 months at Marseille between 2021 and 2022, begins his mission to turn around a spluttering Rennes outfit against Lille on Sunday.Rennes have lost six of 11 games and sit only a point above the relegation play-off spot."Our job here will be to comfort a group of footballers so they don’t feel uncomfortable on the pitch, but have fun and play with much more energy,” the 64-year-old Sampaoli said following his appointment last week."I’m very passionate about being here and having this great challenge.”Fixtures(all times GMT)Friday: Monaco v Brest (1800), Paris Saint-Germain v Toulouse (2000)Saturday: Lens v Marseille (1600), Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (1800), Reims v Lyon (2000)Sunday: Lille v Rennes (1400), Auxerre v Angers, Nantes v Le Havre (1600), Nice v Strasbourg (1945).