PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique is weighing up how many players to rest for Saturday's home game against mid-table Lorient in Ligue 1.
PSG has yet to secure the French title but has a massive game on Wednesday, the return fixture of an intense Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich, which finished 5-4 to titleholder PSG in an extraordinary first leg on Tuesday.
“Every match is different and presents its own challenges. We have to take everything into consideration,” Luis Enrique said Friday. “I need to speak to the players individually. It’s not easy, it’s like playing Tetris. We have to win the three points and manage to get the players back for the most important match of the season."
PSG has a six-point lead over second-placed Lens with four games remaining but still has to travel to its closest pursuer on May 13.
The high-scoring showdown against Bayern left players from both sides exhausted, with PSG right back Achraf Hakimi sustaining a thigh injury which rules him out for several weeks.
“Bayern is the hardest opponent I've faced with PSG. It was the most physically intense game of the season, and emotionally there was also more fatigue,” Luis Enrique said. “(Hakimi) is a machine who always plays at an incredible level, it's like having three players. Unfortunately he won't be in Munich but we are serene.”
Warren Zaïre-Emery is likely to switch from midfield, to fill in for Hakimi at right back, and Luis Enrique can ill afford for him to get injured too.
That's even more the case for goalkeeper Matvei Safonov, given that backup Lucas Chevalier is also out injured.
Luis Enrique needs Safonov against Bayern and may hand a first league start to 19-year-old goalie Renato Marin, who joined from Roma last summer and is highly rated.
Spain midfielder Fabián Ruiz could start against Lorient after recently returning from a knee injury sustained against Sporting Lisbon in January.
“Fabian is an incredible player for us, one of the best midfielders in the world,” Luis Enrique said. “Tomorrow is a good time to get some more playing time.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Referee Sandro Scharer shows the yellow card to PSG's Fabian Ruiz during the Champions League semifinal first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
PSG's Warren Zaire-Emery controls the ball during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique and Bayern assistant coach Aaron Danks, foreground, stand by the touchline during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Paris, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
People across Asia kicked off May Day with large marches and protests as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war. Also known as International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, the holiday highlights the struggles and achievements of workers worldwide. Thousands are taking to the streets from Asia to Europe and beyond calling for stronger labor protections, higher wages and greater equality while drawing attention to stagnant incomes and the rising cost of living.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Union members carefully step through rain-formed puddles to participate in a May Day rally in the rain Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Taiwanese workers take part in a May Day rally in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Members of trade unions take part in a May Day rally in Tsakane, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Protester take part in a rally to mark May Day in Athens, on Friday, May 1, 2026 (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Members of trade unions and workers shout anti-government slogans during an International Labor Day march in New Delhi, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Supporters of the Iraqi Communist Party holds a symbolic hammer and sickle as they take part in the May Day celebration in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A family watch people march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
A protesters holds a fuel pump during the May Day demonstration in Rennes, western France, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo)
Members of the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT) celebrate May Day during a rally in Casablanca. Morocco, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Akram Oubachir)
Protesters shout slogans during a May Day rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Activists of Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLF) hold placards during a May Day rally, in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A man holds a poster with an image of former Soviet leader Josef Stalin as he and other Russian Communist Party supporters gather to mark Labor Day, also known as May Day, at the monument to 19th century German philosopher Karl Marx, near the Red Square in Moscow, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 1, 2026. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Protesters march in the teargas during the May Day demonstration in Lyon, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters burn an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines on Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Kiln workers take part in a demonstration to mark May Day in Hyderabad, Pakistan, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih)
People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Protesters march towards the Malacanang Presidential palace during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines on Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A laborer holds an Argentine flag during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
One of union members carefully steps through rain-formed puddles to participate in a May Day rally in the rain Friday, May 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Protesters shout slogans as they are blocked by police while trying to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines on Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People march to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, in Sydney, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Protesters push an effigy of, from left, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines on Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stage a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 1, 2026. The letters read "No War and Peace." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Laborers hold flares during a May Day demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Protesters shout slogans as they are blocked while trying to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines on Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Protesters hold posters of communist figures as they march towards the Malacanang presidential palace during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines on Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
