Preview: Marseille vs Rennes - prediction, team news, lineups

A place in the next Europa League will be up for grabs on Sunday when Marseille welcome Rennes to Stade Velodrome on the final matchday of the Ligue 1 campaign.

Heading into this meeting, Les Olympiens are sixth in the table thanks to a narrow 1-0 triumph over Le Havre, which has them three points below Stade Rennais, who defeated Paris FC 2-1 last week.

Match preview

Given the inconsistency Marseille have gone through down the stretch of this season, a spot in the Europa League might feel like a success at the end of the day.

Defeating Rennes on Sunday would ensure Habib Beye’s team qualify for that competition as they boast a superior goal difference to their upcoming opponents.

Failing to win might not be all doom and gloom, so long as they avoid defeat, as they boast a vastly superior goal difference to Monaco, who are two points below them heading into the final matchday for that Conference League place.

On Sunday OM will try to avoid dropping points in successive Ligue 1 affairs at Stade Velodrome for the first time all season, drawing Nice 1-1 the last time out.

They have only been shut out once at home in this competition this season, while netting three or more goals on seven occasions.

Marseille have won their previous four home matches versus Rennes across all competitions and are unbeaten in nine straight games against them at Stade Velodrome.

European football will be returning to Roazhon Park next season, as last week’s victory guaranteed that Stade Rennais, at worst, would feature in the next Conference League.

That said, they will have loftier goals than that, heading into the Ligue 1 finale just two points below Lille for a Champions League spot and one back of Lyon for a qualifying place at that tournament.

Franck Haise has done a masterful job since taking charge of this team, winning five of his last six league outings, while suffering just two defeats at the helm.

A single point on Sunday would be enough to get them into the Europa League while it would also ensure they reach the 60-point plateau for the first time since 2022-23 (68).

Rennes have lost their final Ligue 1 encounter in each of the past two domestic campaigns, squandering an early lead at Stade Velodrome a season ago and suffering a 4-2 defeat to Marseille.

Under Haise, they have scored a total of 16 goals in five Ligue 1 contests away from home, four more than they managed in their previous 11 top-flight road outings combined before that.

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

Rennes Ligue 1 form:

Team News

A groin issue could keep Nayef Aguerd on the Marseille sidelines this weekend, Hamed Traore is dealing with adductor pain, while CJ Egan-Riley and Geoffrey Kondogbia are questionable due to leg injuries.

It is unlikely we will see Bilal Nadir in this final outing of the campaign as he is recovering from a hamstring problem.

Mason Greenwood converted a 55th-minute penalty in Normandy for his 16th goal of the Ligue 1 campaign, while Geronimo Rulli returned between the sticks, making one stop for the clean sheet.

We do not expect to see Przemyslaw Frankowski feature at Rennes because of a muscle strain, while Jeremy Jacquet might also sit out with a shoulder issue in what will be his final game in a Rennes shirt before his summer move to Liverpool.

From matchday 32 to 33, Haise made three changes to this starting 11, inserting Aboubakar Nagida, Anthony Rouault and Ludovic Blas into the fold in place of Alidu Seidu, Lilian Brassier and Breel Embolo.

Esteban Lepaul is expected to be the top goalscorer in Ligue 1 at the end of this season, as he and Embolo netted in their victory versus Paris FC, putting the former goals four above Greenwood for the lead with 20.

Marseille possible starting lineup:

Rulli; Pavard, Balerdi, Medina, Palmieri; Vermeeren, Hojbjerg; Greenwood, Timber, Paixao; Gouiri

Rennes possible starting lineup:

Samba; Seidu, Boudlal, Brassier, Merlin; Camara, Rongier; Embolo, Szymanski, Al-Taamari; Lepaul

We say: Marseille 1-2 Rennes

Resilience and consistency could tip the scales in Rennes’ favour on Sunday as they have looked the far more composed side of the two across the board of late.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.