Player and club steeled for 'first big test'

 Neymar dazzled in his Parc des Princes debut last weekend, scoring twice as he tormented Toulouse defenders.

Paris Saint-Germain and Brazilian superstar Neymar face their "first big test" of the season Friday at home in Saint-Etienne as both sides pursue a fourth consecutive victory.Neymar dazzled his debut at the Parc des Princes last weekend, scoring twice as he plagued Toulouse's defenders in a crushing 6-2 win, but Saint-Etienne is the only team to have conceded this season.Former Barcelona midfielder Oscar Garcia enjoys a long honeymoon after replacing Christophe Galtier, coach of Saint-Etienne in June, with his team who collected maximum points to sit at Summit with the PSG and the champion of Monaco.
"This is a first big test for us against Saint-Etienne," said PSG coach Unai Emery. "They have already performed well and have taken nine points."Saint-Etienne snatched a last sigh at their last trip to Paris and Captain Loic Perrin said they had nothing to fear this weekend."We were lucky to start the season well, we are going to Paris with little to lose, when you see their team, it's another world," Perrin said. Particular plan to subordinate Neymar."Neymar is an exceptional player who is one of the top three in the world and it's exciting to be against such a player.""It's getting harder and harder when you're playing in Paris and it's the same for everybody. You have to believe that you can do it and everything is possible in a match if a lot of things happen."The PSG is still without Brazilian broken Lucas while Marco Verratti is suspended following his dismissal against Toulouse.Mbappe, Balotelli under the fireMonaco striker Kylian Mbappe, which took place, drew on Tuesday the ire of some of the hardcore fans of the club as speculation intensifies on the future of the sensation of adolescence.The 18-year-old, a target reported for PSG and Real Madrid, was left out of the team for Friday's victory in Metz one week after staying on the bench as an unused susbtitute against Dijon.The 1994 Ultras Monaco group said Mbappe had "proved nothing special in his dozens of matches as a professional" before adding that "nothing and no one is bigger than AS Monaco."Radamel Falcao shone at the absence of Mbappe, but scored five times in three games before the visit of Marseille in Sunday.Rudi Garcia's men dropped their first points in Sunday's 1-1 draw in Angers and must overcome Domzale of Slovenia on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League play-off.Lyon, also at two points of the first trio, will seek to repair a two-goal advantage in a thrilling 3-3 victory against Bordeaux when they head to Nantes by Claudio Ranieri on Saturday.Dreams of the Champions League Nice climbed into the smoke midway through the week as Napoli strode to a 4-0 win in their tie, after which Lucien Favre scored the performance of Mario Balotelli."Mario was not with that, you have to be honest, he did not give enough, I should have stopped him earlier," Favre said. "We played better when we replaced him with a young person that no one knows."The volatile Italian striker hopes to have the opportunity to redeem himself as Nice embarks on a journey to the bottom of the bottom Amiens, which still has to record a goal or a point.Fixtures (1800 GMT unless otherwise stated)FridayParis Saint-Germain v Saint-Etienne (1845)SaturdayNantes v Lyon (1515), Amiens v Nice, Bordeaux v Troyes, Caen v Metz, Dijon v Montpellier, Toulouse v RennesSundayGuingamp v Strasbourg (1300), Angers v Lille (1500), Monaco v Marseille (1900)