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Paris Saint-Germain are away at Stade Rennais on Sunday aiming to avoid consecutive away defeats in Ligue 1 after a 3-1 loss to RC Lens last time out. Les Parisiens beat Angers SCO 2-0 in midweek with Lionel Messi back in action and scoring while Kylian Mbappe sat out. The French superstar will be back in Brittany as Christophe Galtier's men look to get going one month out from the UEFA Champions League return against a Breton side falling behind in the race for a top three place.

"Teams are uninhibited," said PSG head coach Galtier in his pre-game press conference. "Angers came at us with plenty of ambition. We have to have tough games -- it is better for us. We are expecting a difficult match. It will be an open encounter. We must use the ball better than we did against Angers. We always want to play well and win. We are up against a good team with a good coach in Bruno Genesio. They look to attack quickly and they have quality. They lost Martin Terrier, but they remain a tough team to handle. I have seen their games since the World Cup break ended. They remain formidable. We must do well technically."

Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:

How to watch and odds

  • Date: Sunday, Jan. 15 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
  • Location: Roazhon Park -- Rennes, France
  • TV: beIN Sports USA | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
  • Odds: Rennes +450; Draw: +333; PSG -182 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Team news

Rennes: Terrier's injury and subsequent surgery means that he is out for the season which is a big blow in terms of goal scoring threat. Genesio's men have lost two of their last five in Ligue 1 which will be a worry and had both Warmed Omari and Benjamin Bourigeaud sent off away at Clermont during the week.

"We have a very good squad with very good players of similar levels," said defender Christopher Wooh ahead of the game. "Martin (Terrier) and Benjamin (Bourigeaud) are key players for us, but I think that we still have enough to produce a big performance. We lacked aggression against Clermont. The result is what it is, but we must give everything on the pitch so that we have zero regrets."

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PSG: Mbappe should be back in the XI while Achraf Hakimi has served his suspension, as confirmed by Galtier: "Kylian is ready to play and Achraf is too. They are in the squad. I did not need to speak with Kylian as I did so when he got back from the World Cup. He does not seem too beat up about it. He is with us and smiling like the great professional that he is."

Marco Verratti and Nuno Mendes miss out again after the Angers win while Presnel Kimpembe remains sidelined, but Renato Sanches is back in the squad: "Marco is a very important player," added Galtier. "When he is not there, we miss the science that he brings to our game positionally. Marco is fine and will be back training with us soon."

Galtier also confirmed that Pablo Sarabia is closing on a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers: "Pablo is a very good player," said the French tactician. "However, he was unhappy. He has the chance to go to the Premier League. There is no point in keeping an unhappy player. It is advanced. The club is working, but we will not bring someone in for the sake of it. We have good youngsters and we must give them chances."

Prediction

This one promises to be tight but I can see PSG just shading this one by a goal. Galtier's men are not particularly impressive of late but Mbappe's return should be enough to get them over the line. Pick: Rennes 1, PSG 2.