For the first time in over two decades, Rouen has made it to the Coupe de France’s round of 16 and will take on Monaco this Thursday at Stade Robert Diochon.
In their last game, the Normandy team shocked everyone by beating Toulouse, the current champions, 12-11 in a penalty shootout, while Monaco secured a 3-1 win against Rodez.
Match preview
Last month’s game was a rollercoaster, ending 3-3 in regular time, with Rouen, a team from France’s third division, eventually overcoming the title-holders.
This upset was the talk of the round of 32, as Rouen had just been promoted to the Championnat National.
However, since their exciting victory in the Coupe de France, Maxime D’Ornano’s team has struggled, losing their next two league games, which dropped them to seventh place.
Before their game against Toulouse, Rouen had not allowed any goals in consecutive matches. Yet, they have now let in several goals in their last three games.
Rouen hasn’t lost a round of 16 game in this tournament since the 1985-86 season, despite only reaching this stage once since then, when they beat Montagnarde 2-0 in overtime during the 1998-99 season.
They are among the teams with the fewest goals allowed in the Championnat National this season and have kept clean sheets in four of their last six Coupe de France games.
Monaco got their revenge on Rodez last month, a team that had previously knocked them out early in this competition. They were more clinical this time, scoring three goals with a 67% possession rate.
This win marks Monaco’s progression to the round of 16 in four of the last five Coupe de France seasons, without losing at this stage since a defeat to Saint-Etienne in the 2019-20 season.
Adi Hutter’s squad comes into this match on a five-game unbeaten streak away from home, having won both of their away games in this season’s Coupe de France.
Despite scoring first in their last four competitive matches, Monaco has only won once in normal time and has not trailed in any Coupe de France game this season.
They have lost their last two games at Stade Robert Diochon, including a loss to Rouen back in the 1984-85 season. However, Monaco has never lost to Rouen in the Coupe de France, winning their last encounter in the round of 16 during the 1973-74 season, 6-1 on aggregate.
Team News
Rouen will miss Ruffice Amede Kabongo and Adon Gomis due to injuries. The team saw three changes from their previous tournament game, with Sofyane Bouzamoucha, Malik Abdelmoula, and Mustapha Benzia stepping in.
Bouzamoucha, Valentin Sanson, and Omar Bezzekhami scored in their last upset, and except for Gabriel Suazo from Toulouse, all players scored their penalties, with Abdeljalil Sahloune netting the decisive one.
Monaco will be without Folarin Balogun, Caio Henrique, and Breel Embolo due to injuries. The team also made three changes from their earlier game, bringing in Chrislain Matsima, Edan Diop, and Aleksandr Golovin.
Wissam Ben Yedder led the way against Rodez with a hat-trick, contributing significantly to Monaco’s current Coupe de France run.
Rouen possible starting lineup:
Aggoune;
Sy, Bouzamoucha, Sanson, Bassin, Mion;
Bernasque, Benzia, Bezzekhami;
Loppy, Benkaid
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Majecki;
Salisu, Maripan, Kehrer;
Vanderson, Diop, Magassa, Ouattara;
Akliouche, Minamino;
Ben Yedder
Prediction: Rouen 1-6 Monaco
Despite Rouen’s remarkable win over Toulouse, Monaco’s superior strength suggests they will overpower Rouen.