Luis Enrique believes "the best part of the season is about to begin" as his Paris Saint-Germain side host Monaco in Ligue 1 on Friday.

PSG and Monaco will meet for the 100th time in Ligue 1, becoming the 46th fixture to reach this tally in the competition's history.

Monaco are the first opponent PSG will face 100 times in the top-flight.

This meeting at the Parc des Princes will also be the fourth encounter between the two sides this season, following their Champions League play-off tie.

PSG advanced into the last 16 of UEFA's premier competition with a 5-4 aggregate victory across the two legs, though Monaco did win the reverse Ligue 1 fixture in the league 1-0 in November.

Luis Enrique's side are four points clear of second-place Lens in the title race, and the Spaniard is relishing the importance of their upcoming fixtures.

"The best part of the season is about to begin," said Luis Enrique.

"We've talked a lot about what we've done so far and what we need to improve. We want the players to enjoy playing football, and we're going to play some big games.

"Against Monaco, it's at home, it's important, we need the three points. We can't wait.

"We've played them in the Champions League too, so we're starting to know them well. We know it will be a Champions League-level match.

Luis Enrique's side have also received a boost ahead of the upcoming match, with Ousmane Dembele potentially returning to the squad.

Dembele, who has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 14 league games this season, missed the last three matches with a calf injury.

"It's always good news when players come back from injury, like Dembele or [Senny] Mayulu," added the PSG boss.

"We're happy to have them with us, and we hope they'll be able to join the squad but we have to be careful about each player's condition and make decisions based on that."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Paris Saint-Germain – Bradley Barcola

Barcola has scored in his last two Ligue 1 games for PSG (two goals) and could score in three consecutive top-flight matches for the second time, after a run between May and September 2024 (four).

Monaco – Folarin Balogun

Balogun could make his 100th Ligue 1 appearance (37 with Reims, 62 with Monaco so far) in this game.

Since the start of the 2022-23 season, he is the second-highest scorer in Ligue 1 (38 goals), behind Amine Gouiri (40 goals).

MATCH PREDICTION: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN WIN

PSG have won their last two home games against Monaco in Ligue 1 (5-2 and 4-1) and could record three consecutive home victories against them for the very first time in their top-flight history.

PSG (12) and Monaco (13) have collected the most points over the last five Ligue 1 matchdays.

PSG have won each of their last seven Ligue 1 home games and could record their longest run in top flight since December 2021-April 2022 (eight).

Monaco, meanwhile, have won four of their last five Ligue 1 matches (D1), one more than they managed in their previous 14 (W3 D3 L8).

After receiving red cards in both legs of their Champions League clash with PSG, Monaco will be determined to make this match 11 v 11 for as long as possible.

However, Monaco have received more cards than any other team in Ligue 1 this season (58 – 52 yellow, six red), while PSG have collected 13 fewer than any other team (24 – 23 yellow, one red).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Paris Saint-Germain – 66.5%

Draw – 17.9%

Monaco – 15.6%