However, the last five matches have provided a reality check for the Breton outfit, with draws against Reims and Troyes, followed by losses to Nice and PSG before a 1-1 stalemate with Strasbourg. Despite these setbacks, Les Merlus are still far higher than they would have imagined at this point of the season, sitting just three points behind third-placed Rennes and the Champions League places, and manager Regis Le Bris will hope star striker Terem Moffi - who has only been outscored by Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Ligue 1 this season - can replicate his form from just before the break, when he scored against both Strasbourg and PSG. Like Lorient, Montpellier experienced a slump just before the World Cup and haven't won since 17 September, with the pair facing each other on Thursday afternoon. The sacking of Olivier Dall'oglio in mid-October has not had the desired effect, but caretaker Romain Pitau will perhaps have confidence in his team's resilience after Sacha Delaye's excellent 91st-minute equaliser snatched a point against Reims that could prove priceless in June.
Eastern Michigan vs. Akron: How to watch online, live stream A pair of Ligue 1's top goal-scorers square off when Martin Terrier's Stade
Rennes visits Folarin Balogun's Stade Reims on Thursday, December
Reims vs Rennes LIVE: Latest Ligue 1 updatesA general view of the Stade Auguste-Delaune II (Getty Images)Follow live coverage as Reims take on Rennes in Ligue 1 today. Paris Saint-Germain are the box-office draw of the French top flight with some of the world's very best players including Lionel Messi and Neymar plying their trade in the capital. After Lille produced one of the shocks of recent seasons in the European game by pipping them to the post in 2020/21, PSG returned to the summit of the French game in 2022. Saint-Etienne are the record winners with 10 league titles in their illustrious history, but none since 1981.
Those two morale-boosting victories moved L'OM back to within one point of Rennes, who sit third in the last Champions League qualification spot. Having narrowly missed out on Europe's premier competition by finishing fourth last season, the Red and Blacks looked to have made life difficult for themselves after picking up only 11 points from eight league games at the start of the campaign.
Preview: Rennes vs. Fenerbahce - prediction, team news, lineups Match preview. Rennes' Lorenz Assignon on September 8, 2022 © Reuters.
After finishing fourth in Ligue 1 last season - just
Marseille meanwhile will feel they have a decent chance of maintaining the feelgood factor around the club by beating a Toulouse side later on Thursday that have lost their previous three games and are just three points above the bottom four following an enterprising start to the campaign upon promotion from Ligue 2 as champions. Sead Kolasinac's 98th-minute winner against Monaco sent Marseille into the break in a positive frame of mind Lorient and Montpellier search for win Minnows Lorient were looking like becoming European football's biggest success story in 2022/23 after a sixth straight win put them just one point off Paris Saint-Germain in early October.
Not one to wallow in sadness, Mbappe was back at Paris Saint-Germain's Camp des Loges training centre on Wednesday, just three days after the loss, while team-mate Lionel Messi - the hero of the hour after his two final goals - continues to soak in the adulation after completing his set of silverware and mirroring the achievement of the great Diego Maradona.
PSG vs Strasbourg LIVE streaming info, Ligue 1: When and where to watch, preview, stats, predicted 11PREVIEWFOLLOW PSG vs STRASBOURG LIVENormal service is set to resume in France on Wednesday with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both set to feature for leader Paris Saint-German as it restarts its Ligue 1 season, 45 days after it was popped on ice for the World Cup, with a home game against struggling Strasbourg. Lionel Messi, however, will not be on show in round 16 as he is still at home, celebrating Argentina’s success in the World Cup final in Qatar.
TCU vs. West Virginia: How to watch online, live stream info A pair of Ligue 1's top goal-scorers square off when Martin Terrier's Stade
Rennes visits Folarin Balogun's Stade Reims on Thursday, December
Marseille have won it nine times while Monaco, who are actually based in a foreign country making it a cross-border competition, eight-time champions. Nantes hold the record for the most consecutive matches without defeat (32) and also boast the least number of defeats in a single season (1) in 1994/95. We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below:1672339612Reims vs RennesFirst Half ends, Reims 2, Rennes 1.
Mbappe's presence at training - along with Neymar's - will not have been welcomed by upcoming opponents Strasbourg, who currently sit 19th and have failed to taste victory in their last five matches, conceding 12 times in the process. Mbappe's career record against Le Racing of five goals and four assists in eight games is undeniably impressive, but the Alsace outfit can take pride in the fact that they netted five themselves in their two meetings with the reigning champions last season, including a 3-3 draw at the Stade de la Meinau in which Julien Stephan's side came from 3-1 down to snatch a draw through Anthony Caci's 93rd-minute volley. Strasbourg ended up sixth last term - their best finish for 42 years - but this campaign has been a disaster, not helped by the fact that their top scorer in 2021/22, Ludovic Ajorque, has just one goal to his name so far in 2022/23.
Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to It will be games like this that define both sides' seasons. 4pm L1:
Lorient v Montpellier; 6pm Reims v Rennes; 8pm Marseille v
Reims vs Rennes LIVE: Ligue 1 latest score, goals and updates from fixture After Lille produced one of the shocks of recent seasons in the European
game by pipping them to the post in 2020/21, PSG returned to the
How to Watch Olympique Marseille vs. Toulouse: Stream Ligue 1 Live, TV Channel Match Date: Dec. 29, 2022. Match Time: 2:55 p.m. ET. TV: beIN SPORTS. Live
Stream the Olympique Marseille vs. Toulouse match on
PSG vs Strasbourg LIVE streaming info, Ligue 1: When and where to watch, preview, stats, predicted 11 Lens, meanwhile, will look to keep up the pressure on PSG going into that
game when they head down to Nice on Thursday. Third-placed Rennes
Reims vs Rennes Match Details, Predictions, Lineup, Head to Reims vs Rennes Match Details, Predictions, Lineup, Head to Head, Betting
tips, Where to watch live today? – French Ligue
1672339314Reims vs RennesFoul by Benjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes). 1672339120Reims vs RennesOffside, Reims. Alexis Flips tries a through ball, but Folarin Balogun is caught offside. 1672338545Reims vs RennesAttempt missed. Folarin Balogun (Reims) right footed shot from the right side of the box. 1672338520Reims vs RennesCorner, Rennes. Conceded by Junya Ito. 1672338519Reims vs RennesAttempt missed. Amine Gouiri (Rennes) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Warmed Omari following a corner.
Neymar, whose Brazil crashed out to Croatia in the quarter-finals, was back on Thursday with compatriot Marquinhos, with both expected to play a role in Wednesday’s game at the Parc des Princes. PSG is currently five points clear of second-placed Lens who they meet in Flanders on Sunday. Lens, meanwhile, will look to keep up the pressure on PSG going into that game when they head down to Nice on Thursday. Third-placed Rennes have Croatia’s Lovro Majer and on-loan Wales defender Joe Rodon back from action in Qatar as they head to Reims on Thursday. “For me, it’s a second season that’s starting up again, with the same uncertainties, the same unknowns before a first league match of the season, ” said Rennes manager Bruno Genesio. “We’ll see which teams have best managed this. ”Marseille, which is just one point behind in fourth, host a Toulouse side that is bumping around in mid-table.
Business or pleasure? : Julien Stephan (in black) at the World Cup final - possibly scouting Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe Rennes look to hold off Marseille After a disastrous spell that saw them take just one point from a possible 12 domestically and finish bottom of their Champions League group, Igor Tudor's Marseille recovered some form just prior to the break, defeating Lyon 1-0 before producing a rousing comeback at Stade Louis II, coming from 2-1 down going into the 83rd minute to beat Monaco 3-2 thanks to goals from Jordan Veretout and a 98th-minute flicked Sead Kolasinac header from Dimitri Payet's pinpoint free-kick.
Three things to watch as Ligue 1 returns with Matchday 16Everything you need to know as Ligue 1 returns with Matchday 16 as World Cup final hero Kylian Mbappe resumes domestic duties with Paris Saint-Germain. Published: 28 December 2022 - 2. 11pm By Press Association Paris Saint-Germain - spearheaded by the irrepressible Kylian Mbappe - host Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes on 28 December as the Ligue 1 season gets back underway after the World Cup. Christophe Galtier's men come into the game following a seven-match winning streak in all competitions prior to the extended break, meaning they sit five points clear at the top of France's top flight and await Bayern Munich in a mouthwatering last-16 clash in the Champions League during February and March. Read on for all the major Matchday 16 storylines, plus information on how you can watch EIGHT games from the competition's return exclusively live on BT Sport. Watch the stars of the World Cup! BT Sport is the only place to watch live Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and much more, featuring the biggest names and breakout stars of Qatar all season long! Mbappe back as Messi parties Despite his exploits against Argentina, Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick was unable to bring the World Cup back to France as Argentina prevailed on penalties for the second time in the tournament to collect their first Jules Rimet Trophy since 1986.
Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final but still ended up on the losing side as France flunked the penalty shoot-out, reported back to training on Wednesday with Achraf Hakimi, one of the stand-outs in Morocco’s run to the semi-finals. Mbappe, Messi and Hakimi were just three of the 14 Ligue 1 players -- from eight different clubs -- who reached the semi-finals in Qatar.
However, they have since roared back into contention, with six wins and a draw from seven matches, Martin Terrier and summer signing Amine Gouiri each scoring five in that period, while Armand Kalimuendo and Benjamin Bourigeaud have also impressed. Bruno Genesio's men were the second-highest scorers last season in Ligue 1 with a mammoth 82 goals - after Paris Saint-Germain - but they may have a difficult task on their hands on Thursday evening against Reims, who quietly hit some good form in October and November, winning two and drawing five of their last seven games to crawl up to 11th, with Folarin Balogun bagging the decisive goal in both triumphs. They have been overseen for the last five matches by Belgian-English coach William Still, who has stepped up from assistant to caretaker manager following the sacking of former Brighton boss Oscar Garcia and has picked up nine points (two wins and three draws) since his promotion.
1672339541Reims vs RennesGoal! Reims 2, Rennes 1. Arthur Theate (Rennes) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Martin Terrier with a headed pass following a corner. 1672339501Reims vs RennesCorner, Rennes. Conceded by Yunis Abdelhamid. 1672339320Reims vs RennesBenjamin Bourigeaud (Rennes) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Penn State vs. Minnesota: How to watch online, live stream A pair of Ligue 1's top goal-scorers square off when Martin Terrier's Stade
Rennes visits Folarin Balogun's Stade Reims on Thursday, December
Predicted lineups Paris Saint-Germain: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Bernat; Verratti, Ruiz, Vitinha; Soler; Neymar, Mbappe Strasbourg: Sels; Pierre-Gabriel, Nyamsi, Perrin, Le Marchand, Delaine; Bellegarde, Aholou; Thomasson; Ajorque, Diallo League form PSG: W-W-W-W-W Strasbourg: L-D-D-L-D Head-to-head (all competitions) Total matches: 70 PSG: 38 Strasbourg: 13 Draw: 19 The club, though, has been buoyed by reports last week that the 35-year-old Messi is set to sign a one-year extension to his contract which expires in the summer.
No team has draw more games in Europe's top five leagues this season than the Blue and Whites - eight - while their last away match before the World Cup break saw them squander a 2-0 lead against Ajaccio to ultimately lose 4-2. Stephan was actually at Argentina vs France as his father Guy is Les Bleus' assistant coach and will know that even without Messi, PSG are still a formidable proposition, especially when you're low in confidence, so anything other than defeat would be an unbelievable result for the club from the east of the country.
Reims vs Rennes prediction, preview, team news and more | Ligue 1 2021-22 Saturday sees Reims take on Rennes in a Ligue 1 match at the Stade
Auguste-Delaune. Reims are currently in 13th place in the league
Ligue 1: Is Lionel Messi playing for PSG against Strasbourg? Here's the official update The last game they failed to win in Ligue 1 was a goalless draw against
Reims on October 9. If Christophe Galtier's side are to continue