Stade Briochinvs.PSG

The underdogs have impressed on their home turf at the Stade Fred-Aubert, but they now face their most formidable challenge against the reigning champions.

Match preview

PSG are overwhelming favourites to defend their Coupe de France title, and anything less than a convincing victory on Wednesday would be a major shock.

The Parisians are enjoying a dominant Ligue 1 campaign, remaining unbeaten after 23 matches with 18 wins and five draws, holding a comfortable 13-point lead over Marseille.

Their most recent outing saw them edge Lyon 3-2 on Sunday, keeping their unbeaten record intact, while they showcased their European dominance last week by thrashing Brest 7-0, completing a 10-0 aggregate victory to reach the Champions League round of 16.

Aside from a close call in the round of 64, where PSG needed penalties to get past Lens, their Coupe de France campaign has been smooth, having defeated Espaly 4-2 in the round of 32, before a 2-0 win over third-tier Le Mans in the last 16.

PSG's squad depth has been crucial in this competition, allowing Luis Enrique to rotate while maintaining their impressive form, and the Parisians enter this clash on an eight-match winning streak in all competitions and will be expected to field a strong side.

Meanwhile, Briochin will be aiming for another giant-killing after eliminating Le Havre and Nice in the previous two rounds of the Coupe de France.

Their cup journey began with a 3-0 win over Paimpol, followed by a dramatic penalty shootout victory against Saint-Malo - they then stunned Ligue 1 side Le Havre with a 1-0 victory in the round of 64, before producing an even bigger upset by beating Nice 2-1.

Prior to their triumph over Nice, Guillaume Allanou's men were unbeaten in 10 games, but they suffered back-to-back defeats afterward - however, they returned to winning ways with a 6-2 victory over Granville last Friday, just in time for this historic quarter-final.

This is the furthest Briochin have advanced in the Coupe de France since 1966, when they reached the round of 16 before losing to Strasbourg - their most notable recent cup runs came in 2018-19 and 2019-20, when they reached the last 64.

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Paris Saint-Germain Coupe de France form:

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Team News

Briochin's experienced defensive trio of Benjamin Angoua, Christophe Kerbrat and Hugo Boudin will have their hands full against PSG's high-powered attack.

Boudin, who scored both goals in the win against Nice, will look to be the hero once again in what is expected to be an entirely different level for the fourth-tier side.

Up front, Christian Konan and Stan Janno, both of whom have found the net in this competition, are expected to lead the line.

For PSG, Warren Zaire-Emery and Ibrahim Mbaye remain sidelined with injuries, with both players expected to return at the end of the month.

Enrique is likely to rotate his squad from the side that beat Lyon, with Goncalo Ramos, Matvey Safonov and Lee Kang-in in contention to start.

Stade Briochin possible starting lineup:

L'Hostis; Le Marer, Angoua, Kerbrat, Boudin, Diakite; Gomis-Maillard, Yobe, Zakharyan; Janno, Konan

Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:

Safonov; Zague, Beraldo, Pacho, Hernandez; Mayulu, Ruiz, Lee; Kvaratskhelia, Ramos, Doue

We say: Stade Briochin 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Anything short of a dominant PSG victory will be a shock here, but Briochin have eliminated two Ligue 1 sides from the competition already, so they will not feel hopeless.

Written by

Joshua Cole

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