What should PSG fans expect ahead of Stade Rennais vs PSG?

PSG’s Le Classique 5-0 demolition of Marseille, which was arguably their best result and performance of the season so far, will have left them brimming with confidence ahead of what is an important fortnight for them, with both domestic and European clashes coming up quickly.

They start by travelling to Rennes, whose own form has seen a drastic recent downturn: tomorrow’s hosts have lost their last four games across all competitions, including heavy defeats to Lens, Monaco and Marseille and an embarrassing home turnover to Lorient. It’s a very good time, then, for PSG to travel to a stadium that they have occasionally struggled in recent history: losing there in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 (Rennes did the double over PSG in the latter season).

There will probably be a certain amount of healthy squad rotation for the Parisians tomorrow, as Luis Enrique will no doubt have one eye on next week’s Champions League Play-off clash away to Monaco, a game which will perhaps take precedence in the Catalan coach’s mindset. Indeed, Enrique will perhaps feel as though his side can dispatch Rennes without having to call on all of his big guns: although PSG are still not as far clear at the top of Ligue 1 as they would like, with Lens persistently winning games and remaining 2 points behind the Champions.

PSG do however have a fairly fit squad of players to call upon if necessary, with only Quentin Ndjantou and Fabien Ruiz out with injury: the latter of whose knee injury has now kept him out for four games. It is a drastically different situation however compared to the injury crisis of earlier this season, in which at times it felt as though the entirety of PSG’s squad was out injured.

One exciting factor for PSG fans will be potential game time for youngster Dro, signed from Barcelona in January, whose silky footwork in a small appearance off the bench against Marseille did not go unnoticed. PSG fans will hope that the rookie will get some more game time tomorrow, and given Enrique’s rotation policies, it’s quite likely that he will feature at least at some point. Other academy stars like Senny Mayulu and Ibrahim Mbaye will also perhaps feature, even potentially from the start.

Rennes’ main threat, and the man who PSG will have to look to mark out of the game, is striker Estéban LePaul, who is the third top scorer in Ligue Un this season with ten goals. The twenty-five year old Frenchman has found his shooting boots this season and PSG’s defence will have to be weary when dealing with him, although they will take solace in the fact that they managed to keep him entirely quiet in the 5-0 thrashing they inflicted on Stade Rennais in the reverse fixture back in December.

After PSG’s trip to Rennes tomorrow and their Champions League clash next Tuesday, they host Metz next weekend, before the reverse leg against Monaco. It signals an entry into the business end of the season and a moment in which the Parisian attackers have to start kicking into gear if they want to seriously compete in Europe. If last Sunday’s domination against Marseille is anything to go by though, they are certainly in with a chance.