Aiming to keep their dreams of securing a 15th Coupe de France trophy on track, Paris Saint-Germain will welcome Rennes to Parc des Princes for a semi-final clash on Wednesday night.
Les Parisiens returned to competitive action following the international break with a win at Marseille on the weekend, whilst Les Renais suffered defeat at relegation-threatened Strasbourg.
Match preview
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Still on course to seal a quartet of major honours this season, PSG recorded their third-straight victory across all competitions on Sunday afternoon, when the league leaders travelled to the Stade Velodrome and escaped with maximum points following a bout with Marseille.
Keeping their first clean sheet in just under a month, Les Parisiens were able to keep Jean-Louis Gasset's charges at bay before pouncing twice in the second period, with strikes from Portuguese duo Vitinha and Goncalo Ramos securing an 18th win of the Ligue 1 campaign.
Luis Enrique's side maintained their 12-point gap over second-placed Brest with a win on the South Coast last time out, and now PSG must refocus their attentions onto Coupe de France matters, with Wednesday's hosts the clear favourites ahead of the semi-final fixtures this week.
After playing against lower league outfits Revel and Orleans in the earlier rounds, Les Parisiens have been tested significantly in order to punch their ticket in the final four, beating Brest 3-1 in the round of 16 before defeating Nice by an identical scoreline in the quarter-finals.
Leading the Coupe de France's Golden boot race with seven strikes - three more than Rennes' Arnaud Kalimuendo-Muinga - Kylian Mbappe will be targeting a triumph in this competition for the fourth and potentially last time, with a summer switch to Real Madrid on the cards.
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Rennes' hopes of securing European football for next season took another major hit on Sunday afternoon, when Wednesday's visitors to the French capital were defeated 2-0 by a Strasbourg side who have pulled away from danger near the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings with three points.
Following a goalless first half at Stade de la Meinau, it was three minutes of madness that sentenced Les Rennais to their eighth league loss of the 2023-24 campaign, with goals from Marvin Senaya and Jeremy Sebas sealing maximum points for Patrick Vieira's troops.
Putting Ligue 1 and Europa League disappointments aside for the moment, Julien Stephan still have the opportunity to lift some silverware before the season's end, with Rennes attempting to collect a major honour for the first time since they won the Coupe de France in 2019.
Les Rennais have navigated three away ties against inferior opposition - in terms of division status - to reach the semi-finals of this year's competition, beating Guingamp, Sochaux and Le Puy by an aggregate scoreline of 11-2 to set up a final-four clash with the current Ligue 1 holders.
Team News
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PSG are still short of options at the back, with both Presnel Kimpembe and Brazilian Marquinhos out of action due to Achilles tendon injuries.
Therefore, Les Parisiens are expected to field a centre-back pairing of Lucas Beraldo and Danilo Pereira on Wednesday, with the latter often being utilised in the midfield.
Enrique has a number of men missing from the left flank, with Bradley Barcola and Layvin Kurzawa sidelined until the middle of April due to hamstring and back injuries respectively.
Rennes have no fresh fitness issues to contend with following their loss at Strasbourg, but Stephan is set to make some alterations to the XI which disappointed last time out.
After starting on the bench on Sunday, leading marksman Kalimuendo-Muinga is set to be promoted to the side, potentially at the expense of 18-year-old Desire Doue.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Pereira, Beraldo, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Ruiz, Dembele; Mbappe, Muani
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; G Doue, Wooh, Theate, Omari; Matusiwa, Santamaria, Bourigeaud; Gouiri, Terrier; Kalimuendo-Muinga
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Rennes
PSG are showing no signs of faltering domestically as they tumble towards the Ligue 1 title, and we are expecting Les Parisiens to advance into the final of Coupe de France on Wednesday.
Rennes are the side hoping to topple the competition favourites, but we cannot envisage anything other than a success for Enrique's team in the French capital.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
