AS Monaco are to host Rennes tonight, Wednesday evening at the Stade Louis II in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue. Asked at a press conference this week, Thierry Henry delivered his impressions on the upcoming match, which promises to be a great challenge for his team.
Quite rightly pleased with his team’s Coupe de France victory against Canet-en-Roussillon, Monaco’s young coach Thierry Henry evoked the Coupe de la Ligue match against the Bretons from Rennes. A quarter-final that promises to be difficult, according to coach Henry, who did not fail to highlight Rennes’ qualities, as the side is currently competing in four competitions this season, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the club.
“Wednesday is going to be a very difficult match. Rennes is very good at the moment, with players like Sarr and Ben Arfa who break forward quickly and create mismatches. If you want to play on the European level next year, the Coupe de la Ligue is the fastest way. Not the easiest, but the fastest. We will give this match everything we have,” said Thierry Henry.
Indeed, despite the return of Rony Lopes, Henry will once again be without 12 players including some major elements like Chadli, Sidibé, and Jovetic absent with injuries, as well as Subasic, excused for family reasons, and Falcao, unavailable since last week following the death of his father. However, he can count on his new defender Naldo, the first recruit of the winter transfer window.
It is also a two-game week for his group, who will travel this weekend to Marseille to face OM. A match that the Monegasque coach is treating as a top priority, which will guide his choices in picking who will take the field against Rennes: “Against Rennes, we will try to get as close as possible to the team that will face Marseille. It’s a match that can take us to the semi-finals so it’s important. In this phase, you have to manage the players a little differently. We must steadily build. We will see who has recovered well from the match against Canet. The team will be different against Rennes.”
AS Monaco – Stade Rennais: League Cup quarter-final, Wednesday 9 January, 6:45 pm at the Stade Louis II.
*Article originally released on the French edition of the Monaco Tribune.