Rouen vs. Lille Live Match Preview
Lille will aim to avoid a cup shock when they face third-tier Rouen in the Coupe de France round of 64 on Friday night.
Bruno Genesio’s club is currently 16 games unbeaten in all competitions, but they face a team that has been reinvigorated after the arrival of manager Regis Brouard.
Match Preview
This fixture has the potential to become one of the biggest stories of the weekend if Lille slip up, considering the run they are on currently.
A 1-1 draw against Marseille last weekend stretched their incredible unbeaten record to 16 matches, during which they defeated Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid and held Juve, Monaco, and OM to a draw.
If a third-tier team ends that run, which began in early September, it will be difficult to match, regardless of what happens in the round of 64.
Lille made little fuss about their round of 64 match last season, defeating Martinique-based club Golden Lion 12-0 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
They were unable to advance any further, falling in the last 16 against Lyon, extending their poor streak in this competition.
Lille’s finest performance since winning the Coupe in 2011 has been two quarter-final appearances, interspersed by painful defeats to lower-league opponents Trelissac and Epinal.
Rouen are also a potentially difficult opponent, despite Genesio’s men’s recent form, and superstitious fans will recall that the National side has knocked Lille out of the cup twice before, in 1953-54 and 1992-93.
Many may also recall that the most notable prior meeting between the two occurred in the quarter-finals in 1983, with Lille winning that day.
Rouen did, however, reach that round last season, upsetting Ligue 1 Toulouse and Monaco on their route to a penalty shootout defeat against Valenciennes.
The 1925 finalists have never come close to matching that as they did last season, and they have been dealt one of the most difficult draws possible, with all French clubs now participating.
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They advanced to this round with a 3-0 win over amateur outfit Ginglin Cesson, but despite the vastly superior quality of their next opponents, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
Not only did Rouen defeat two top-flight opponents last season, but since Brouard’s hiring in November, they have won all four games without conceding in 337 minutes, taking them safely clear from the relegation zone in the third tier.
The new manager gained popularity after defeating local rivals Quevilly Rouen 2-0 in their most recent game, which was their last in the league until mid-January.
