- 1 Rennes vs Marseille: seven points to three, and the gap is already there
- 2 Rennes have their best start in years
- 3 Marseille still searching for an identity
- 4 Ligue 1 prediction Rennes vs Marseille
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Rennes vs Marseille: seven points to three, and the gap is already there 
Rennes have seven points after three Ligue 1 matches, Marseille have three. Four points already separate two clubs who were chasing the same target this summer.
Roazhon Park opens the fourth round on Friday 11 September at 20:45, French time. Nobody will have played before them this weekend.
The Bretons are still unbeaten in the league, with two wins and a draw. Olympique de Marseille have lost two of their three games and sit 11th.
Franck Haise kicked off with a 2-2 draw against Paris Saint-Germain, then beat Le Mans and won at Angers. Bruno Genesio has gone the other way: an opening 4-0 win over Strasbourg, then back-to-back defeats.
The latest one hurt. Paris FC came to the Velodrome and left with a 3-2 win last Sunday, in a game Marseille were still leading at the break.
The fixture list is not doing them any favours either. Besiktas are waiting in the Europa League, then Paris Saint-Germain turn up at the Velodrome right after that.
A third defeat in four league games would drag OM into the bottom half before October has even started. Rennes, meanwhile, are chasing a place in the top three.
Rennes finished sixth last season with 59 points, enough to drag them back into Europe after three years away. This campaign has started with a bit more status around the club again.
The next few weeks for the Bretons are brutal. After Marseille come Olympique Lyonnais and Paris FC in the space of four matches, which makes Friday’s points even more valuable.
Rennes have their best start in years 
Seven goals in three league games, and only one side has done better. Stade Rennais sit fifth with seven points on the board.
A lot of that attacking output is down to Esteban Lepaul. The forward has scored in each of the first three rounds, and nobody else in the squad is close to matching that.
The downside is obvious. Five goals conceded in three games is the price of a team that keeps leaving the door open at the back.
Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal missed the trip to Angers to be with his family after the birth of his child. He is back in the centre of defence alongside Charlie Cresswell, brought in during the 2026 summer window.
Brice Samba returned in goal last week after a muscle issue that kept him out against Le Mans. The 32-year-old gives some much-needed reassurance to a defence that still looks shaky.
Djaoui Cisse remains out of the group. The midfielder has not played a single minute for Rennes since May.
Roazhon Park has become a proper stronghold again: six straight competitive matches there without defeat. Rennes have also won three of their last four home games against Marseille, most recently 1-0 at the start of last season.
The 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on opening day set the tone. Rennes led by two before being pulled back, which sums up their strengths and their flaws in one go.
Back-to-back wins followed, 3-2 against Le Mans and 2-1 at Angers. This is a team that scores plenty and still leaves a crack open at the back.
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Marseille still searching for an identity 
Three points from three games, 11th in the table: Marseille’s start has been a mess. Six scored, five conceded, and two defeats in a row to round off the run.
The 4-0 thumping of Strasbourg on opening day already feels like a different season. Monaco beat OM 2-0, then Paris FC walked out of the Velodrome with all three points.
Amine Gouiri is carrying this attack almost on his own. The Algeria international has scored four of Marseille’s six league goals since the campaign began.
At the back, the list of problems is growing. Geoffrey Kondogbia picked up a thigh injury against Monaco and is not expected back before October, while Tochukwu Nnadi has had knee trouble since that same game.
Igor Paixao returned to the squad last week after a thigh scare. The 26-year-old Brazilian gives Genesio a real option on the left side.
The team also lost some attacking weight over the summer. Several senior players left and the signings have not filled the gap, and OM are paying for it as matches wear on.
One thing is still in their favour: they have lost only one of their last five meetings with Rennes. The recent head-to-head does not bury them, their current form does.
The trip to Monaco served as a warning. Beaten 2-0 without ever troubling the league leaders, OM laid bare their collective limits.
The loss to Paris FC stung even more. A 3-2 home defeat to a promoted side has put Bruno Genesio under instant pressure in Marseille.
Likely Rennes XI: Samba; Frankowski, Cresswell, Ait Boudlal, Merlin; Rongier; Bias, Szymanski, Camara, Tamari; Lepaul
Likely Marseille XI: De Lange; Weah, Egan-Riley, Aguerd, Emerson; Hojbjerg; Harit, Abdelli, Gomes, Paixao; Gouiri
Ligue 1 prediction Rennes vs Marseille
Our prediction: Rennes to win
Rennes are unbeaten in six home games and arrive with the league’s second-best attack. Marseille turn up on the back of two straight defeats and a defence missing Kondogbia and Nnadi.
The four-point gap in the table is no fluke. Lepaul scores every week, while Gouiri is carrying a Marseille attack that is basically hanging off him.
Lepaul against a Marseille centre-back unit without Kondogbia is the key angle here. Rennes have enough to strike early, maybe even inside the first half-hour.
Then there is the schedule hanging over OM, with Europa League duties and PSG at home waiting in the wings. Rennes should win this one.
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