Esteban Lepaul extends 20-goal run ahead of Marseille – Rennes

Esteban Lepaul arrives at marseille – rennes with 20 goals and a scoring run that now spans four consecutive matches. Rennes need that edge in a fifth-place chase that still reaches toward the Champions League, while Marseille sit sixth and need points to lock in their Europa League path.

Esteban Lepaul and Marseille

Lepaul was central to Rennes' comeback against Paris FC last week, and his finishing has become the cleanest edge in this matchup. He has scored in four straight matches, a stretch that gives Rennes a steady source of goals as they head to the Orange Vélodrome.

Marseille have had trouble closing out recent home games, conceding at least one goal in their last three at home. That leaves a thinner margin against a Rennes side that has won five of its last six matches and still has a route into the Champions League if Lille or Lyon slip up.

Marseille's home hold

The numbers at the venue still lean the other way. Marseille have won four straight home matches against Rennes, and they also beat them 3-0 in the Coupe de France this year with Habib Beye on the Rennes bench.

That history sits alongside a wider pressure point for Marseille's season. They lost 0-1 at Le Havre last weekend, and earlier setbacks against Lille and Monaco have left them needing a win against Rennes to validate their ticket for the Europa League or to rely on a Lens victory in the Coupe de France.

Greenwood and Samba

Mason Greenwood's 16th goal of the season at Le Havre ended a two-month drought, giving Marseille at least one forward who has broken through recently. But Aubameyang, Paixão and Gouiri have not scored in four matches, so the burden does not sit on one player alone.

Rennes travel without their starting goalkeeper Samba because of suspension, a loss that narrows their margin in a match that already carries weight on both sides of the table. Marseille are sixth and Rennes fifth, and the result on Sunday can tighten or loosen each club's route in the final stretch of the championship.