Rennes vs Paris Saint-Germain: Match Preview

Paris Saint-Germain travel to Route de Lorient this weekend as they prepare to face Rennes in the 5th match day of the Ligue 1 season.

The match comes after the international break in which many Parisians, including Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, featured for their home nations.

Ibrahimovic once again made history for his nation as he broke the scoring record of 50 goals as well as reaching his 100th cap.With Parisian captain Thiago Silva currently out on injury, Ibrahimovic is expected to captain the Paris side. Les rouge and bleu, are coming off a stellar match against ASSE in which netted five goals, giving a flawless performance.

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The match against Rennes is sure to be a difficult one and speaking with PSG TV, defender Gregory Van der Wiel expects nothing less,

"“We are expecting a tough match. It’s never easy playing against Rennes,” Van der Wiel explained."

“In France, all the clubs want to beat Paris, so they will be playing with a lot of heart. We have to stay focused 100% to get a result from a match that won’t be easy.”

PSG are facing a bit of a set back with injuries from new signings, David Luiz and Serge Aurier. Luiz suffered a knock to his left knee in the recent friendly between Brazil and Colombia.

According to PSG.com, the Brazilian defender’s injury is progressing positively, however due to persistent pain, Luiz requires continued treatment before he can effectively return to training.

Serge Aurier has remained under supervision after suffering from a head injury. He is currently with Cote D’Ivore national team and will undergo a precautionary scan before returning to Paris.

On a brighter note, following the Rennes match, the Parisians fly to Amsterdam will they will face Ajax in their first match of the Champions League group stage.

Rennes are coming to the match with a positive start to the season. In five games, they have one loss, one draw and two wins.

Despite being the underdogs, they are very capable of defeating the two time defending French champions.

Rennes have the opportunity to take advantage of PSG’s weakened defense with David Luiz more than likely absent from the game.

Possible Lineups:

Paris Saint-Germain

XI: Sirigu; Marquinhos, Camara, Maxwell, Van der Wiel, Veratti, Pastore, Motta, Lucas, Cavani, Ibrahimovic

Rennes:

XI: Costil; M’Bengue, Danze, Mexer, Armand, Pajot, Grosicki, Henrique, Prcic, Fernandes, Toivonen

Predicted Score:

Rennes 1-3 PSG

Paris Saint-Germain have the quality to defeat Rennes, but they need to make sure that they are consistent. That is the most important thing, the performance they gave against ASSE was excellent and although Rennes are not as week as ASSE, PSG are very capable of defeating Rennes.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a great leader for the team and one thing that has been noticeable is that the team does well under his leadership. With captain Thiago Silva out, Ibra will be the prime factor in leading his team to success.