France predicted XI v Austria: William Saliba to start, Kylian Mbappé returns | OneFootball

William Saliba is expected to start in place of Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté when France get their Euro 2024 campaign on the road, against Austria on Monday night.

Arsenal centre-back Saliba has often been overlooked by Didier Deschamps, however, he is now going to get his chance to impress. He will partner Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano at the heart of Les Bleus’ defence. It is expected that Adrien Rabiot will start after he recovered from his muscle fatigue issue. However, should he not be deemed fit enough, AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana will start in his place.

One player that is certainly out is Aurélien Tchouaméni. Despite completing a full training session on Saturday, he won’t be risked against Austria, however, there is optimism that he will be fit enough to feature against the Netherlands later in the week.

There are also concerns surrounding the fitness of Kylian Mbappé. The France captain admitted as much ahead of the match. However, his place in the starting XI is not in doubt.

France likely lineup v Austria

Mike Maignan; Théo Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Jules Koundé; Adrien Rabiot, N’Golo Kanté, Antoine Griezmann; Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Thuram, Ousmane Dembélé.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle