Rennes v Marseille: Amine Gouiri key to OM recovery bid in Ligue 1

Rennes host Marseille at Roazhon Park on Friday evening in the fourth round of Ligue 1 2026-27, with the visitors looking for a response after back-to-back defeats.

The Rouge et Noir began the campaign with a draw against Paris Saint-Germain before consecutive victories over Le Mans and Angers. They moved to fifth in the table with seven points from three matches, one of only five unbeaten sides.

Rennes scored twice early on to beat Angers 2-1 last time out, while Marseille suffered a painful 3-2 home defeat by Paris FC. Franck Haise’s side can nevertheless be pleased with its start, having secured European football for the first time in three years by finishing sixth last season with 59 points.

The hosts have scored seven goals so far, bettered only by Strasbourg, but five conceded goals underline a defensive weakness they will need to address if they are to challenge near the top of the division. Rennes have also won three of their past four home meetings with Marseille, including a 1-0 victory at the start of last season.

Marseille finished 2025-26 strongly with victories in their final two matches, but ended the campaign one point behind Lyon, who took the final French place in the Champions League. Having qualified for that competition in three of the previous four seasons, the nine-time French champions will be eager to recover from that disappointment.

They opened this season by beating Strasbourg 4-0, but two successive defeats have left Bruno Genesio’s team in the bottom half of the table. Marseille are already four points behind Rennes and face a demanding schedule, including a Europa League match away to Besiktas and a major Ligue 1 meeting with Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Velodrome next Sunday.

The visitors have lost only once in their past five matches against Rennes, although they are not favourites for Friday’s game.

Rennes’ recent Ligue 1 form is draw, win, win; Marseille’s is win, defeat, defeat.

Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal missed the win at Angers to attend the birth of his child but is expected to return, likely alongside new signing Charlie Cresswell. Djaoui Cisse has not played for Rennes since May, and it remains unclear when he will return to the squad.

Goalkeeper Brice Samba, 32, returned last week after missing the match against Le Mans with a minor muscle injury. Esteban Lepaul has scored in each of Rennes’ three league matches, while Amine Gouiri has scored four of Marseille’s six goals this season. The Algeria international has taken on the attacking responsibility following the departures of Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Marseille are without Geoffrey Kondogbia, expected to be sidelined until October after a thigh injury against Monaco, and Nigeria midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi, who has a knee problem sustained in the same match. Igor Paixao returned to the squad last week after missing the previous game with a thigh complaint.

Probable Rennes XI: Samba; Frankowski, Cresswell, Ait Boudlal, Merlin; Rongier; Blas, Szymanski, Camara, Tamari; Lepaul.

Probable Marseille XI: De Lange; Weah, Egan-Riley, Aguerd, Emerson; Hojbjerg; Harit, Abdelli, Gomes, Paixao; Gouiri.

The source prediction is for both teams to score and more than 2.5 goals at 1.65, Esteban Lepaul to score at 2.15, and Amine Gouiri to make a decisive contribution at 2.00. Despite Marseille’s need for three points, Rennes’ six-match unbeaten run in competitive home games makes a home win the selection.