Stade Rennais vs Olympique Marseille – 05/03/2023
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A huge game takes place in Ligue 1 this weekend with Rennes set to welcome Marseille to Roazhon Park with both sides aiming to stomp their marker down on this unpredictable race for the Champions League spots in France.
Rennes may be out of the Europa League, but they are now up into fifth in the league after two wins in a row since losing to Toulouse in early February.
The club edged past Nantes away from home last weekend, as Jeremy Doku returned to the scoresheet with a goal that rocketed his side into the Europa Conference League spot of fifth. Just prior to this, Arnaud Kalimuendo scored twice in a 2-0 win over Clermont Foot.
Rennes are, however, coming into this one having been knocked out of the Europa League by Shakhtar Donetsk on penalties after winning 2-1 at home and losing by the same scoreline in the first leg away in Ukraine.
Nevertheless, Bruno Génésio’s men are heading into this one with a gap of just four points on Lens in fourth and the same points tally over Monaco in third.
A title race for his side is very unlikely, given how Paris Saint-Germain are 14 clear.
On the other hand, Marseille are just six clear ahead of the meeting between the two here and a victory for Rennes here would be their biggest marker on the European spots all season long.
As for Marseille, they were stunned in midweek in a thrilling French Cup quarter-finals classic encounter, which came just a few weeks on from defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the same competition.
The club went 1-0 up against Ligue 2’s Annecy at the Orange Velodrome, but two goals inside six minutes during the second half gave the Ligue 2 outfit a 2-1 lead.
Francois-Regis Mughe scored in the 96th minute of the game and this also came not long after Alexis Sanchez missed a penalty. The game eventually went to penalties, as Nuno Tavaraes and Leonardo Balerdi missed one each.
Back in the league, Idor Tudor’s men were smashed by PSG in the league as the league leaders went on to increase their lead at the top of the table to eight points. Nevertheless, Marseille have still won 16 games this season in Ligue 1 and come into this one two clear of Monaco in second.
Forebet predicts a win for Marseille and for the game to see over 2.5 goals.
