Paris Saint-Germain return to Coupe de France action on Wednesday as they prepare to take on Stade Rennais FC at Roazhon Park for the second time in 2017. A win this time will take them into the round of 16 of the competition and restore some confidence to the squad after a disappointing result against AS Monaco last Sunday.
Since PSG’s 0-1 win over Rennes on January 14, Les Rouges et Noirs have only managed to draw against En Avant de Guingamp and FC Nantes. But Paris shouldn’t take them lightly. In the win, the reigning French champions narrowly escaped thanks to Julian Draxler’s first-half goal. This time, the Brittany side will have redemption on their mind and will hope to cause an upset.
Unai Emery will be without a host of starters, including Marco Verratti, Kevin Trapp, Thomas Meunier, Angel Di Maria, Giovani Lo Celso, and Grzegorz Krychowiak due to fitness issues. Jesé Rodriguez will no longer be an option for PSG after his loan move (without an option to buy) to hometown club Las Palmas was finally made official.
For the first time in what seems like forever, Javier Pastore is back in the squad for Wednesday’s match. Hopefully he remains injury-free throughout the 90 minutes and the rest of the season. Serge Aurier also returns after international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Starting XI Prediction
(4-3-3) Areola; Aurier, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Maxwell; Rabiot, Motta, Nkunku; Lucas, Cavani, Draxler.
Score Prediction
Rennes 0-2 PSG
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