Rennes can advance to the last 16 at the Coupe de France for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign when they travel to the Stade Velodrome for a round of 32 clash on Friday with Marseille.
Stade Rennais edged past Bordeaux 2-1 earlier this month, while OM netted twice in the second half to blank Hyeres 2-0.
Match preview
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For the moment, it looks as though Igor Tudor has silenced his critics, with Les Olympiens currently on a seven-match winning run in all competitions since exiting from the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Lately the Stade Velodrome has proven to be a challenging venue for opposing teams to play in, with Marseille winning their previous three domestic matches played there by a combined score of 11-2.
Marseille have a 100% record at home this year and are undefeated at the Velodrome in this competition since falling 4-3 in extra-time versus Monaco in 2016-17.
Not only are they finding the back of the net with more regularity, but they have received contributions at virtually every position.
Their most notable contribution has come from the backline, with defenders or wing-backs scoring 14 Ligue 1 goals for them this season, twice as many as any team in the French top flight.
Last Saturday was the first time all year that they had conceded the opening goal in any competitive fixture, though they trailed Lorient for a mere nine minutes before drawing level and eventually winning 3-1.
They made it into the last eight at the Coupe de France a season ago and have never lost to Rennes in this competition, defeating them 3-0 in the 2005-06 semi-finals.
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For a few seasons now, the club from Brittany have been among the most consistent sides in the French top flight, though this competition has given them fits lately, going out on penalties to Nancy from Ligue 2 last season.
Les Rouges et Noir are coming off an impressive showing domestically last weekend, holding the league leaders Paris Saint-Germain to just a single shot on target and coming away with a 1-0 triumph.
In doing so they became the only team in Ligue 1 this season to defeat and keep Les Parisiens off the scoresheet in the same domestic encounter.
Bruno Genesio's men have not been as potent in the final third away from home lately, scoring just a single goal in each of their previous three domestic encounters on the road.
Les Rennais have won just once in their last five matches in all competitions as the visitors, but they are hanging onto the final European spot at the midway point of the domestic campaign.
Claiming a victory at the Stade Velodrome has proven to be exceedingly difficult for Rennes, who are winless in their previous five visits there, including a 1-1 draw in league play last September.
Not since their 2019-20 Coupe de France campaign have Les Rouges et Noir won a road contest in this competition, squandering a 1-0 lead at this stage last season to Nancy and losing 2-1 at Angers in the third round in 2020-21.
Les Rennais have not lost a competitive fixture all season when scoring the opening goal, while they have only been shut out once throughout the campaign, falling 1-0 at home to Lorient in their opening Ligue 1 fixture of 2022-23.
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Team News
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Alexis Sanchez and Bamba Dieng had the only Marseille goals when they defeated Hyeres in the previous round, Ruben Blanco stopped two shots for the clean sheet on that occasion, while Jordan Veretout has netted in back-to-back domestic fixtures.
In their previous battle with Rennes, Matteo Guendouzi gave Les Rennais the lead with an own goal in the 25th minute, before levelling the match himself with a strike early in the second half in a 1-1 draw, while Cengiz Under and Amine Harit are searching for their first strikes of this competition after being two of the three players that found the back of the net when they made it to the quarter-finals last season.
Jonathan Clauss is not expected back until late January because of a groin injury, while Tudor made one change to his opening lineup against Lorient last weekend from the squad which began the previous match against Troyes as Ruslan Malinovskyi made his first start in Ligue 1, replacing Issa Kabore.
Meanwhile, Eric Bailly, currently on loan from Manchester United, will be suspended for this encounter after being red-carded in the 15th minute versus Hyeres.
Hamari Traore had the only goal for Rennes when they defeated PSG last Sunday, as Steve Mandanda, the former first-choice keeper at Marseille, had to make just one save for the clean sheet, while Benjamin Bourigeaud and Jeremy Doku each scored in their narrow victory over Bordeaux to advance to this stage of the tournament.
Bourigeaud and Lovro Majer each scored in a 2-0 victory at home to Marseille domestically last season, Warmed Omari is searching for his first of this competition, while Arnaud Kalimuendo had the only goal in their previous road fixture, which they lost 2-1 at Clermont.
Their top goalscorer in Ligue 1, Martin Terrier, is out for the season due to an ACL injury, while Xeka will not be available until late January because of a sprained ankle.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Balerdi, Gigot, Gueye; Kabore, Guendouzi, Veretout, Kolasinac; Payet, Sanchez; Dieng
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Meling, Theate, Wooh, Traore; Tait, Ugochukwu, Bourigeaud, Majer; Doku, Gouiri
We say: Marseille 2-1 Rennes
It should be a close encounter between a pair of sides near the top of the league table, but the loss of Terrier might tip the scales in favour of the home side, while we expect Rennes could have a let-down given the emotional high they experienced when defeating PSG last weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
