Ligue 1's most prolific home side host the division's top-scoring away team in a tantalising battle on Sunday night, as Rennes welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Roazhon Park.
The nine men of Les Rouges et Noir suffered a 2-1 defeat to Clermont last time out in a blow to their Champions League aspirations, while the champions put Angers to the sword 2-0.
Match preview
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Starting life without injured top scorer Martin Terrier - who will miss the rest of the season with an ACL rupture - in disappointing fashion, Rennes left the Stade Gabriel Montpied turf two men short as Clermont claimed a memorable win over Bruno Genesio's crop last weekend.
Grejohn Kyei and Arnaud Kalimuendo both found the back of the net before Benjamin Bourigeaud and Warmed Omari were given their marching orders, and Les Lanciers took advantage in the fifth minute of added time, as Johan Gastien lashed home what proved to be the all-important winner.
When it rains it pours for Les Rouges et Noir, whose Champions League destiny is now out of their own hands as they occupy fourth place in the Ligue 1 table - five points worse off than Marseille in third and only clear of fifth-placed Monaco on goal difference.
Lorient and Lille are also within touching distance of Rennes, who could soon be fighting to salvage a top-five finish let alone a place in the Champions League, having only won two of their last five matches in the French top flight.
Les Rouges et Noir have also now gone five games without a clean sheet in Ligue 1, albeit while remarkably scoring in each of their last 32 matches in the division, and they have strung together an eight-game winning streak at Roazhon Park since going down to Lorient on the opening weekend of the season.
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Many a script was written for Lionel Messi in Qatar, and the Paris Saint-Germain essayists conjured up the Argentine's latest act in the French capital, as he found the back of the net on his first game back since fulfilling his World Cup dreams.
With final opponent Kylian Mbappe on holiday, Messi calmly slotted home to double PSG's lead against Angers after Hugo Ekitike's sweeping finish had broken the deadlock with five minutes gone, although the 35-year-old's strike was initially ruled out for offside before being awarded upon review.
Bouncing back from their 3-1 defeat to Lens in confident fashion, the reigning French champions have increased their lead over Les Sang et Or at the top of the table to six points after Franck Haise's title hopefuls lost ground in a 2-2 draw with Strasbourg.
Defeat at the home of Lens on New Year's Day ended a 12-game unbeaten run for PSG away from home in the French top flight, but only five goals shipped on the road is still a division low, and the closest challengers to their league-high 25 away goals are Monaco and Troyes with 19 apiece.
A strike from Mbappe gave PSG a 1-0 win over Rennes when the sides last met at the Parc des Princes in February, and while Rennes have avoided defeat in their last three meetings with the champions at home - winning 2-0 at Roazhon Park last season - the absent Terrier will still be watching on with bated breath.
Team News
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Following their red cards in the defeat to Clermont, Rennes duo Omari and Bourigeaud will serve one-game suspensions for the visit of the champions, and the latter's place should be filled by Croatian playmaker Lovro Majer.
Christopher Wooh was chosen to come off the bench over Joe Rodon last time out and will seemingly keep the Tottenham Hotspur loanee at bay as he deputises for Omari, while ACL victim Terrier is joined in the treatment room by Xeka and Baptiste Santamaria, who are both nursing ankle problems.
There are fears that Xeka's issue could render the Portuguese midfielder out for several weeks, leaving 18-year-old Lesley Ugochukwu to man the engine room alongside Flavien Tait for the time being. With Terrier out, Kalimuendo will aim to strut his stuff against his former club.
Captain Hamari Traore has been mentioned as a possible transfer target for Fulham, although Cottagers boss Marco Silva has since denied that his side are interested in the Mali right-back.
While Rennes have lost their star attacker, PSG will welcome back theirs after Mbappe returned from his New York holiday with Achraf Hakimi, who was not available to face Angers through suspension anyway.
Galtier is also confident that Renato Sanches will be back for Sunday's game, but Marco Verratti was another notable absentee from the win over Angers after picking up a thigh injury and will need further assessment. Meanwhile, Presnel Kimpembe and Nuno Mendes continue their recoveries from Achilles and thigh issues respectively.
Sunday's match should see the reunion of the Messi-Mbappe-Neymar for the first time since the World Cup, as Ekitike prepares to drop out despite scoring four goals in his last five appearances in all tournaments.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Traore, Wooh, Theate, Truffert; Majer, Ugochukwu, Tait; Doku, Kalimuendo, Gouiri
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Bernat; Vitinha, Pereira, Ruiz; Messi; Mbappe, Neymar
We say: Rennes 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Not many teams can proudly boast to come away from Roazhon Park with all three points to their name, but all the ingredients are there for a crucial PSG win, as Rennes work around the absence of their top scorer and a double suspension blow.
While we do not expect the hosts' magnificent goalscoring streak in front of their own fans to come to an end, the famed PSG trident is sure to expose Rennes' recent defensive shortcomings, and we can only envisage the champions returning to base with another win under their belts.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
