Marseille vs Rennes Prediction: OM off to a flyer in February after disastrous January

The Coupe de France enters its round of 16 stage this week, and in the second of two ties on Tuesday, Olympique Marseille host Stade Rennais at the Stade Velodrome (20:10 GMT).

Below are my Marseille vs Rennes predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

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Team News

Back-to-back defeats in the Uefa Champions League and Ligue 1 last week saw Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi come under fire, so the Italian is likely to name a strong starting XI on Tuesday to alleviate some of the pressure on his shoulders.

However, Emerson Palmieri (thigh) is still in the treatment room, while Angel Gomes completed a loan move to Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers on Deadline Day.

Ethan Nwaneri and Quinten Timber could make their Coupe de France debuts after joining from Arsenal (loan) and Feyenoord, respectively, last month.

Football Odds

As for Rennes, boss Habib Beye, who captained Marseille during his playing days, has seen two of his players, Seko Fofana and Mohamed Meite, depart in the couple of days for FC Porto and Al Hilal, respectively, but his squad has been strengthened this month by the arrival of Sebastian Szymanski (Fenerbahce), who could make his full debut on Tuesday after back-to-back substitute appearances.

Midfielder Valentin Rongier missed Saturday's 4-0 defeat at AS Monaco due to a calf injury, but the 31-year-old could make the bench at the Velodrome.

Marseille vs Rennes Odds

Marseille, who thrashed two lower-league opponents, FBBP (0-6) and Bayeux FC (0-9), to reach the last 16 of the competition, are 4/7 favourites to win in regulation time on Tuesday, implying a 63.6% probability of success.

Rennes, who also knocked out two lower-league teams, Les Sables VF (3-0) and US Chantilly (1-3), are 18/5, or a 21.7% chance, to claim a second victory of the season over Les Phoceens, having won 1-0 in Ligue 1 at Roazhon Park last August.

The draw, which would send the tie straight to a penalty shootout, is priced at 3/1.

Bet Builder - Marseille to Win (90 mins) & Over 4.5 Rennes Corners @ 11/4

Neither side are in good form, with Rennes failing to win any of their last three (D1, L2), losing their last two without scoring, while Marseille have won just one of their last four (D1, L2), and neither of their last two.

However, at home and with a much more talented squad, it's Marseille who are expected to prevail in regulation time on Tuesday.

Rennes have played three away games in Ligue 1 since the start of December, suffering heavy defeats at Paris Saint-Germain (5-0) and AS Monaco (4-0), either side of a 2-0 win at Lille OSC, who went down to 10 men in the 13th minute with the scores level.

Today's Football Fixtures

Marseille have lost two of their last three at home, but in the first of those, a 2-0 reverse to FC Nantes, they had two players dismissed, one before the visitors' first goal, and another before their second.

Last time out at the Velodrome, they beat RC Lens 3-1, too.

Rennes may help themselves to their fair share of corners, though, as they did against PSG on December 6, taking six despite suffering a five-goal defeat at the Parc des Princes, while in their success at Lille's Stade Pierre Mauroy on January 3, they went one better (seven).

Both Teams To Score - No @ 5/4

It's difficult to trust either defence to keep a clean sheet, but Rennes have failed to score in three of their last eight games, including their latest two.

Marseille, meanwhile, have kept out some big teams at home this season, namely PSG (1-0), Monaco (1-0) and Ajax (4-0).

Two of the last four head-to-heads, including September's win for Rennes, have seen one team fail to score, too.