After nearly five months of action, we have our four semi-finalists for this year’s Coupe de France. At first glance, one might feel a sense of déjà vu- three of the four sides were also semi-finalists in last season’s competition, and the draw has kept open the possibility of a repeat of the 2019 final.
The first semi-final sees Lyon take on Paris Saint-Germain. This is part of a busy set of fixtures for OL, where they will be in action against Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus in the Champions League, take on bitter rivals Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 and square off against Thomas Tuchel’s side in both the French Cup and the League Cup. The other semi-final sees defending champions Rennes take on ASSE, meaning that all four semi-finalists are from the French first division. A look at the Unibet soccer odds indicates that PSG are heavily favoured to beat OL in both competitions, perhaps not surprising given Les Gones’ record against top six opposition in the league this season.
Lyon do have home advantage for the Coupe de France semi-final, but it was of little use to them when they crashed to a 3-2 defeat against Rennes at this very stage last season. Their last eight tie against Marseille wasn’t one for the purists, but they did get the better of their southern rivals thanks to an 81st minute winner from Houssem Aouar.
PSG absolutely took apart Dijon in their quarterfinal, smashing them 6-1, with Pablo Sarabia scoring a brace. Rennes saw off the challenge of fourth tier Belfort, beating them 3-0 at Stade Auguste Bonal in front of a 19,506 strong crowd.
Rounding off the semi-finalists are Saint-Etienne, who, like Rennes, also faced fourth tier opposition in the last eight. Goals on either side of half time from Denis Bouanga and Mahdi Camara sealed the visitors’ passage into the last four.
ASSE last won this tournament back in 19777- it was a hat trick of trophies on that occasion for Les Verts, but those days appear to be a thing of the past for the club’s fans. Their league standing isn’t the best this season, and should they find themselves in a relegation dogfight at the time of the semi-final, don’t be surprised to see manager Claude Puel prioritise survival over an opportunity to knock out the reigning champions.
A repeat of last year’s final between Rennes and PSG would be quite mouthwatering. SRFC are one of the few clubs to have troubled the Parisians domestically, having beaten them in the Cup last year and in Ligue 1 this season. Thomas Tuchel’s side also had to come from behind when the two sides clashed in the French Super Cup back in August.
A Lyon-St Etienne final would seem unlikely, but will not be short on fireworks if it does happen- the Rhone-Alpes derby is one of the high points of the French domestic season, and the rivalry is even higher than the OL-PSG or OL-OM clashes. Lyon last won this competition back in 2011/12, and will be hoping to end their trophy-less run this year.