Ligue 1 powerhouses Rennes make the long journey to Cyprus to kick off their Europa League campaign against AEK Larnaca in Group B on Thursday night.
The hosts head into the contest at the AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis having suffered a 3-2 league defeat to Omonia at the weekend, while Bruno Genesio's team could only draw 1-1 with Troyes.
Match preview
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A second-placed finish in the Championship round of the 2021-22 Cypriot First Division presented Larnaca with the opportunity to ply their trade in the top tier of European competition for the first time in their history, entering the Champions League in the second qualifying round.
However, the green-yellows were quickly seen off by Danish outfit Midtjylland before being consigned to Europa League qualifying, but neither FK Partizan nor Dnipro-1 were any match for the Cypriot side as they made the group stage for just the third time ever.
Larnaca had previously reached the Europa League proper in 2011-12 and 2018-19 but unsurprisingly failed to progress to the knockout rounds, and the start of their new domestic season has gone far from swimmingly for Jose Luis Oltra's men.
This week's hosts sit on just one point from two matches after drawing 0-0 at home to Doxa before falling to a 3-2 loss away to fellow Europa League contenders Omonia on Saturday, as Fotis Papoulis netted in the 85th minute after Larnaca had recovered from 2-0 down to level the scores at 2-2.
Oltra's side can at least take confidence in the fact that they scored at least twice in all four of their Europa League qualifying matches earlier this summer, but their last two appearances in the secondary competition have seen them pick up just one win from six group matches.
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Defensive moments were the theme of Rennes' summer transfer window, but a rearguard shake-up has not had the desired effect for Genesio's under-performing side, who could only take a point back to base from Troyes at the weekend.
Ike Ugbo put ESTAC in the ascendancy before Yoann Salmier's straight red card would seemingly present Rennes with the opportunity to turn the tide in their favour, but Genesio's side could only find the one goal from an unlikely source in Baptiste Santamaria.
Truly defining the term mixed bag, Rennes have posted two wins, two draws and two defeats from their first six outings in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season, and worryingly, Les Rouges et Noir are still on the hunt for their first clean sheet of the season.
Rennes' attacking capabilities have never been questioned, and the arrival of Amine Gouiri from Nice has only strengthened the visitors in that regard as they aim to build on last season's run to the Europa Conference League last-16, where Leicester City got the better of them.
The French outfit are appearing in the Europa League group stage for the fourth time this year but have only ever made it into the knockout rounds once before in 2018-19 - losing to Arsenal in the last-16 - and they meet Larnaca for the first time aiming to end a four-game losing streak away from home in the Europa League.
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Team News
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Larnaca goalkeeper Andreas Paraskevas is out for the long-term with a cruciate ligament rupture but would have been unlikely to start here either way, while former Portugal Under-21 international Bruno Gama is now fully recovered from Achilles surgery.
The 34-year-old is an option for change in the hosts' attacking lineup, but Oltra's first port of call should be to reinstate Victor Olatunji to the first XI after his goal off the bench in the defeat to Omonia.
Olatunji came on as a substitute in that game to replace Adam Gyurcso, who was taken off despite having scored a penalty only a minute beforehand, but the Hungarian was not reported to have suffered any sort of injury and should be fine to feature here.
As for Rennes, Jeremy Doku's injury problems continue to bedevil the Belgian youngster as he sits on the sidelines with a muscular problem, while Warmed Omari and Arnaud Kalimuendo also take up beds in the medical bay.
Joe Rodon's Tottenham Hotspur side faced off against Rennes in the Conference League last year, and the Wales international should now start for Les Rouges et Noir alongside Christopher Wooh or Arthur Theate, but Birger Meling is pushing to displace Adrien Truffert at left-back.
While Doku remains absent, fellow starlet Kamaldeen Sulemana will eye an opportunity to make an impact in this game - especially with Gouiri suspended - but 18-year-old Lesley Ugochukwu will be forced to miss out due to school exams. Former number one Alfred Gomis, meanwhile, has been relegated to third choice behind Steve Mandanda and Dogan Alemdar.
AEK Larnaca possible starting lineup:
Piric; Rosales, Tomovic, Gonzalez, Garcia; Ledes, Sanjurjo; Faraj, Altman, Gyurcso; Olatunji
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda, Traore, Rodon, Wooh, Meling; Majer, Santamaria, Tait; Bourigeaud, Terrier, Sulemana
We say: AEK Larnaca 1-3 Rennes
A Larnaca side who have already demonstrated a prolific streak against European opposition should experience some joy in front of goal here, with Rennes likely to rotate and struggling to keep things tight at the back.
Working without Doku or Gouiri is not what the doctor ordered for Genesio either, but Les Rouge et Noir still possess the attacking nous necessary to get the job done on Thursday.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
