Rodez AF face their biggest test yet in the Coupe de France when they play host to Monaco at the Stade Paul Lignon for a place in the round of 16 on Saturday.
This will be a second cup meeting between the two sides in consecutive seasons, with the Ligue 2 outfit claiming a penalty-shootout victory in the round of 64 back in January 2023.
Match preview
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Rodez continue their quest for a playoff spot as they picked up a dramatic 2-1 victory over Pau FC when the sides squared off last Friday in Ligue 2.
Following a relatively uneventful first half, Moussa Sylla levelled matters in the 88th minute to cancel out Abdel Hakim Abdallah's 53rd-minute opener, but Wilitty Younoussa struck in the fifth minute of stoppage time to hand the hosts all three points.
Rodez have now gone five consecutive games without defeat across all competitions, claiming one draw and four wins, including successive victories over Annecy and Pau in Ligue 2, where they are currently seventh in the table, just one point off the playoff places.
Didier Santini's men now turn their attention to the Coupe de France, where they kicked off the campaign with a 3-0 victory over Liffre on November 18, three weeks before hammering Stade Mayennais 9-0 in the second round.
Rodez cruised through the round of 64 in their first game of the year when they picked up a 4-0 victory over Challans, with French forward Killian Corredor grabbing the headlines with a brilliant hat-trick.
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Elsewhere, Monaco dropped to fourth place in the Ligue 1 standings as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Stade Reims when the sides met at the Stade Louis II on Friday.
After falling behind to Teddy Teuma's first-half opener, Wissam Ben Yedder restored parity with a 49th-minute strike, but Reda Khadra and Azor Matusiwa found the back of the net to hand the hosts their first loss of the year.
This was a second consecutive home defeat for Adolf Hutter's side, who were beaten 1-0 by Olympique Lyon on December 15 courtesy of an 85th-minute strike from Botafogo loanee Jeffinho.
Les Rouge et Blanc now turn their sights to the Coupe de France, where they edged out Lens on penalties on January 7 following a 2-2 draw in normal time at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
Monaco will be backing themselves to find their feet this weekend as they head into the cup tie on a run of three consecutive away wins, stretching back to a 5-2 loss at Paris Saint-Germain on November 24.
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Team News
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Rodez will have to cope without the services of skipper Bradley Danger, who is currently suspended after picking up a red card against Pau last weekend.
On the injury front, Santini will be unable to call upon experienced defender Eric Vandenabeele, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a fibula injury back in August.
Joris Chougrani was forced off injured inside the opening half-hour against Pau last time out and the 32-year-old is a major doubt for this weekend's tie.
In his absence, 26-year-old Lucas Buades should come into the fray, forming the back four with Abdallah, Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao and right-back Ahmad Toure Ngouyamsa.
Monaco will be without Stephane Singo (Ivory Coast), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana), Ismail Jakobs (Senegal), Krepin Diatta (Senegal), Mohamed Camara (Mali) and Takumi Minamino (Japan), who are all on international duties.
The midfield duo of Eliot Matazo and 18-year-old Eliesse Ben Seghir have been sidelined through muscle and shoulder injuries respectively and will play no part in this weekend's game.
Swiss striker Breel Embolo has also been out of action since last June through an injury while 26-year-old defender Caio Henrique is currently recuperating from a knee problem.
Rodez AF possible starting lineup:
Cibois; Ngouyamsa, Yao, Buades, Abdallah; Taibi, Haag, Rajot; Hountondji, Corredor, Arconte
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Magassa, Maripan, Kehrer; Vanderson, Fofana, Zakaria, Ouattara; Akliouche, Golovin, Balogun
We say: Rodez AF 0-2 Monaco
While Rodez have put together a fine run of form heading into this one, they are in for a tough 90 minutes against a star-studded and more experienced Monaco side. Given the gulf in quality and depth between the two sides, we are backing Hutter's men to come out victorious.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
