Marseille vs Rennes – News and Probable Lineups

This Sunday, Marseille will take on Rennes at Stade Velodrome, with a spot in next season’s Europa League on the line during the final match day of the Ligue 1 season.

Going into the match, Les Olympiens find themselves in sixth place after narrowly defeating Le Havre 1-0, placing them three points behind Stade Rennais, who won 2-1 against Paris FC last week.

Match overview

Given the ups and downs Marseille have faced towards the end of this season, securing a place in the Europa League would be seen as a positive outcome.

Should they succeed in defeating Rennes, Habib Beye’s team will guarantee their qualification for the competition, as they hold a better goal difference than their rivals.

However, not winning isn’t necessarily catastrophic, provided they avoid defeat, since they have a significantly better goal difference than Mônaco, who trail them by two points as they approach the final match day for a potential Conference League spot.

On Sunday, OM will aim to prevent dropping points in consecutive Ligue 1 matches at Stade Velodrome for the first time this season, after drawing 1-1 with Nice in their last outing.

This season, they have been kept scoreless at home just once in this league, while managing to score three or more goals on seven different occasions.

Marseille has triumphed in their last four home contests against Rennes across all competitions and remains unbeaten in nine consecutive games against them at Stade Velodrome.

European football is set to return to Roazhon Park next season, as last week’s win ensured Stade Rennais will at least participate in the upcoming Conference League.

That being said, they aspire to achieve greater things, heading into the Ligue 1 finale just two points shy of Lille for a Champions League spot and one point behind Lyon for a qualifying position in that tournament.

Franck Haise has excelled in his role since taking over, winning five of his last six league matches, while suffering only two defeats during his tenure.

A single point on Sunday would suffice to secure a place in the Europa League, and it would also help them reach the 60-point mark for the first time since the 2022-23 season (68 points).

Rennes has lost their final Ligue 1 fixture in each of the last two seasons, relinquishing an early lead at Stade Velodrome a year ago and falling 4-2 to Marseille.

Since Haise’s arrival, they have managed to score a total of 16 goals in five Ligue 1 matches away from home, which is four more than they amassed in their preceding 11 top-flight away games combined.

Team News

Nayef Aguerd may be sidelined this weekend due to a groin issue, Hamed Traore is experiencing adductor discomfort, while CJ Egan-Riley and Geoffrey Kondogbia are questionable due to leg injuries.

It’s unlikely that Bilal Nadir will feature in this season’s final match as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

Mason Greenwood converted a penalty in the 55th minute while in Normandy, marking his 16th goal of the Ligue 1 campaign. Geronimo Rulli returned to goal, making one save for a clean sheet.

Przemyslaw Frankowski is not expected to play for Rennes due to a muscle strain, while Jeremy Jacquet may also miss out with a shoulder injury in what will be his last appearance in a Rennes shirt before his transfer to Liverpool this summer.

Between matchdays 32 and 33, Haise made three alterations to the starting XI, bringing Aboubakar Nagida, Anthony Rouault, and Ludovic Blas into the team in place of Alidu Seidu, Lilian Brassier, and Breel Embolo.

Esteban Lepaul is projected to end this season as the top goalscorer in Ligue 1, having netted in their victory against Paris FC, putting him four goals ahead of Greenwood with a total of 20.

Marseille probable starting XI:

Rolls; Pavard, Balerdi, Medina, Palmieri; Vermeeren, Hojbjerg; Greenwood, Timber, Paixao; Gouiri

Rennes probable starting XI:

Pray; Seidu, Boudlal, Brassier, Merlin; Camera, Rongier; Embolo, Szymanski, Al-Taamari; Lepaul

Rennes’ resilience and consistency could give them the edge this Sunday, as they have displayed a more composed performance than Marseille in recent times.