Both aiming to narrow the gap to the top five in the Ligue 1 table and strengthen their bid for European qualification, Rennes and Marseille will square off in an important contest at Roazhon Park on Sunday.
The visitors currently sit seventh in France's top flight, three points ahead of their hosts and three points off fifth and fourth spots.
Match preview
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Rennes head into the weekend aiming to return to winning ways in Ligue 1, having seen their top-five charge halted in recent weeks in the search for European qualification.
After enduring a dismal start to the top-flight campaign by their own standards, amassing just 16 points from their first 16 games, Les Rouge et Noirs moved into contention for a top-five spot with an eye-catching upturn in form, putting six consecutive wins together between late December and mid-February, scoring 14 goals along the way while only conceding five.
Julien Stephan's men then added to that run with a creditable 1-1 draw away at Paris Saint-Germain, albeit only being pegged back in injury time after Amine Gouiri's opener, before their streak was halted at home to Lorient at the beginning of the month, eventually falling to a 2-1 defeat with Gouiri's injury-time goal coming too late to force a turnaround.
Setting out to quickly return to winning ways and ramp up their pursuit of the European spots, Les Rouge et Noirs most recently faced a tough trip to fourth-placed Lille last Sunday and looked set to take all three points from an impressive 2-0 triumph, having led until the final 10 minutes through Ludovic Blas and Arnaud Kalimuendo, only for Jonathan David to level the scores with a late brace, with the equaliser coming two minutes into injury time.
Left wounded by that late setback and six points behind fourth and fifth places with nine games to go, Rennes have little more room for error if they are to challenge for a European spot and will be desperate to bounce back against a fellow top-five-chasing side on Sunday.
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Their visitors make the trip for a true six-pointer having improved their standing in the fight at the top end of Ligue 1 in recent weeks, leapfrogging their hosts in the process.
In a Ligue 1 campaign which has lacked consistency, Marseille sat in a disappointing mid-table position in mid-February, as a six-match winless streak left them on just 30 points from 22 outings.
They appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks under the new management of Jean-Louis Gasset, though, having since put three consecutive top-flight wins together to move back into the top-five picture, firstly handing out 4-1 and 5-1 thrashings to Montpellier HSC and Clermont respectively.
Les Olympiens then hosted Nantes last Sunday and made it three consecutive three-point hauls in relatively comfortable fashion, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a goal in each half, before they most recently travelled to Villarreal on Thursday for the second leg of a Europa League tie and lost 3-1, being enough to book their quarter-final place nonetheless after last week's 4-0 home win.
Having seemingly rediscovered their groove under new management and moved within three points of fourth and fifth spots, Marseille will bid to keep building momentum and to narrow the gap further with a fourth straight Ligue 1 victory at the weekend.
Team News
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Rennes head into Sunday's meeting without key midfielder Enzo Le Fee, who has been sidelined by injury since early February, while Fabian Rieder and Mahamadou Nagida also remain confined to the treatment room.
Julien Stephan is unlikely to make many changes to his starting XI from the draw with Lille last time out, and Arnaud Kalimuendo is bound to again lead the line having hit his 11th goal of the season in that match.
Ludovic Blas, who also got on the scoresheet, will continue to join Amine Gouiri and top scorer Benjamin Bourigeaud in a dangerous supporting trio, while Azor Matusiwa and Baptiste Santamaria should again partner up at the base of the midfield.
Marseille continue to deal with a long list of enforced absences, with Valentin Rongier, Samuel Gigot, Michael Murillo and Bilal Nadir remaining confined to the treatment room.
Jean-Louis Gasset made several rotations for their midweek trip to Villarreal, and he should revert to a full-strength starting XI on Sunday, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bound to come back in from the outset and lead the line having netted 11 Ligue 1 goals alongside seven assists so far this term.
Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye may again join him up top, while Amine Harit will return to the midfield, with Leonardo Balerdi and Chancel Mbemba continuing at the heart of the defence.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Doue, Wooh, Theate, Truffert; Santamaria, Matusiwa; Bourigeaud, Gouiri, Blas; Kalimuendo
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Meite, Mbemba, Balerdi, Merlin; Harit, Kondogbia, Veretout; Sarr, Aubameyang, Ndiaye
We say: Rennes 1-2 Marseille
Both sides will be desperate for three points in a pivotal contest in the top-five race, and despite facing a tough trip, Marseille are in fine fettle under new management and playing to their full potential, and we fancy them to make it four Ligue 1 wins on the bounce as a result.
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