Three Nantes Wins, One Derby, One Place in the French Cup Final
FC Nantes have beaten Stade Rennais FC in their last three meetings; Thursday’s French Cup semi-final raises the stakes and tests both sides’ depleted ranks.
Derbies do not need a league table to bite. On Wednesday, 19 March, FC Nantes and Stade Rennais FC meet in the French Cup semi-final, with a place in the final at stake and old local noise ready to spill into a knockout night. Nantes arrive with a run of three straight wins over Rennes — and the latest was only two months ago.
On 13 January, Antonio Mba’s 16th-minute goal gave Nantes a 1-0 Ligue 1 Uber Eats victory. That is a pattern Rennes must break, not a result they can afford to replay in their heads.
Nantes are expected to stick with their 5-2-3 DM Wide, while Rennes have used their 4-2-3-1 DM AM Wide in each of their last 12 matches. The hosts will be without regulars Cristian Armengol and Raul López, both injured; Kristof Vanneste is also listed as injured. Rennes are missing attacking midfielder Alexis Roberti, whose expected return is on Thursday. The January meeting’s match-winner, Mba, is expected to start again. So is Eric Bolzoni, now leading the Rennes line against his former club, where he played from 2049/50 to 2052/53.
There are sharp match-ups across the flanks: Abdallah Falah, averaging 7.66 in recent games, against Rennes right-back Ariel Rein, at 6.62. Nantes forward Adama Doukar has two goals in his last four games and may fancy the space behind Cristian De Nicolo. At the other end, Mba holds the aerial edge over Bolzoni.
Nantes have been busy on the European stage too, part of a French week that brought three wins from five matches. But Thursday is its own test: a derby, a semi-final, and Rennes standing between Nantes and another shot at the cup final.