Round 16 of Coupe de France sees French minnows Le Mans take on the reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday at MMArena.
To reach this stage, the Ligue 1 leaders secured a 4-2 victory over third-tier Espaly-Saint-Marcel, while the Championnat National 3 side triumphed over Valenciennes on penalties (4-3) after a 1-1 draw in regulation.
Match preview
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Reigning champions PSG were made to work for their place in the round of 16 during their last cup outing against Espaly, who took an early lead through Kevis Gjeci in the third minute.
While the Parisians turned the game around with Warren Zaire-Emery restoring parity before the break and Desire Doue putting them ahead in the 67th minute, the third-tier side levelled the score four minutes later, before late goals from Bradley Barcola (88') and Goncalo Ramos (92') finally secured Paris' progress.
PSG are no strangers to this stage of the competition, having reached the round of 16 for the 11th consecutive season and lifting the trophy seven times in that stretch, including when they defeated Lyon 2-1 last term.
Luis Enrique's side head into this encounter on the back of a thrilling 5-2 victory over Brest in Ligue 1, leaving Les Parisiens 10 points clear at the top.
PSG remain unbeaten on the domestic front this season, with their most recent triumph extending their run to 59 matches, dating back to the previous campaign.
Meanwhile, Le Mans enjoyed a relatively smooth ride to the round of 32, overcoming Vannes (2-1) before breezing past Marmande (7-0) and Saint-Colomban Locmine (4-0), but they encountered their toughest challenge of the campaign in their last cup outing.
Les Sang et Or appeared to be heading for another routine win when Arnold Vula struck in the 28th minute, yet that remained their only goal as Les Mucistes were pegged back with eight minutes to go, forcing extra time, and after 120 minutes of intense football, Patrick Videira's side ultimately triumphed on penalties.
This marks the fourth time Le Mans have reached this stage of the competition, but they have never advanced past the round of 16, suffering defeats to Nantes, Amiens and most recently in the 2008-09 season when they were eliminated by Guingamp after a 1-0 loss.
Looking to break that barrier, the third-tier side will need to pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory against the French giants, who have defeated them six times in the last eight competitive meetings between the sides.
The hosts enter this clash with strong momentum, unbeaten in their last nine matches across all competitions, with five wins, a penalty shootout victory against Valenciennes and two draws.
Team News
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Le Mans have as many as three players on the treatment table, including Edwin Quashie (ankle), Erwan Cola (back), and Vula (hamstring), who are all sidelined for Tuesday's match.
Antoine Rabillard, with four goals in five appearances in this season's French Cup, is expected to pair up front alongside Dame Gueye, who has netted three, in a two-man attack.
PSG will be without Zaire-Emery and Ibrahim Mbaye, both of whom are sidelined with sprained ankles, while Joao Neves is also unavailable due to a foot injury.
Ousmane Dembele is in explosive form, having scored two hat-tricks in his last two games, but the Frenchman may be rested and start on the bench alongside Barcola, who has featured in every game this season.
This could pave the way for a front three of Ramos, Doue and new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who could make his French Cup debut.
Le Mans possible starting lineup:
Hatfout; Burlet, Lamgahez, Yohou, Mouen, Ribelin; Bernardeau, Lauray, Rossignol; Rabillard, Gueye
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Vitinha, Ruiz, Mayulu; Doue, Ramos, Kvaratskhelia
We say: Le Mans 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain
While Le Mans will look to show they are no pushovers, aiming for one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history, PSG are expected to be too strong an opponent for the third-tier side, making an away win almost certain.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi
