Defending Coupe de France champions Nantes should continue their adventure this time around into the quarter-finals, with a short trip to Angers an appetising journey for them.

Nantes are in a position whereby they can start to prioritise the cup competition. Their league form is such that they are in mid-table in Ligue 1, although they will certainly have their eye on a glamorous Europa League double header against Juventus, which kicks off next week.

Antoine Kombouare’s side have lost only one of their last 10 matches, which was against an in-form Marseille team. They have been travelling well, meanwhile, winning four of their last five on the road.

Previous rounds of the cup have seen them field strong teams – a sign that they are not about to back off now.

Conversely, Angers are not in a position to treat the cup with severity. Survival in Ligue 1 has to be their aim at this juncture of the season, even if it looks a long shot as they are 10 points shy of where they need to be. With injury problems in their ranks, any rotation that they make is liable to weaken the starting XI significantly.

Although Nantes were held 0-0 in Angers on the opening day of the season, they dominated that game and recent trips to Stade Raymond-Kopa have been fruitful for them, with 4-1 and 3-1 wins recorded.

The Coupe de France normally throws up three or four amateur sides who exceed expectations and progress to the latter stages of the competition, yet this season there is just a single club in that category to reach this juncture of the competition: Breton outfit Vierzon.

This is a club that is presently bottom of their National 2 group, a regional league that is the fourth tier of French football. Up against reserve teams from the likes of Angers, Nantes and Lorient, they have been suffering defeats on a regular basis, with the cup one of their few sources of solace. This will be their first home match in their run and it will come against a side that is easily the toughest opponent they have come across. Previously, they needed penalties to overcome third-tier strugglers Le Puy.

Grenoble, meanwhile, are three points off the promotion spots in Ligue 2 and have been travelling well lately. They have won their last three road trips, including a weekend success in Nimes, which was on a difficult pitch, the type of which they will expect to find in Vierzon. In previous rounds of the cup, GF38 have aligned strong starting XIs, so there is little reason for them taking a different view now the quarter finals are in sight.

Having already twice dispatched amateur sides on their travels in the cup this season, Grenoble’s price to complete a hat-trick is a generous one, particularly as they will have a strong squad for the match.

Marseille’s home meeting with PSG on Wednesday is undoubtedly the highlight of the Coupe de France last 16 draw, with the Ligue 1 leaders in grave danger of being eliminated from the competition by the side second in the top flight.

OM’s price of 3.1 to get the win is tempting given the fact that they are flying right now while PSG have bigger fish to fry in the weeks ahead, with a match against Monaco in the league looming before Bayern Munich in the Champions League to follow six days after this fixture. Moreover, the injury problems of the visiting side cast further doubts over their ability to win this game, although the return of Neymar and Marco Verratti for this encounter undoubtedly plays in their favour.

Where there is value in this match, though, is in scoring lines. PSG may be decorated with some of the best forwards in the world, but Marseille have made it consistently difficult for them to score goals against them. Of the last six encounters between these clubs, only two have produced more than three goals. The last time these clubs met in Marseille, they played out a scoreless draw.

This is the type of game that is likely to follow a similar pattern. OM will try to make life difficult for PSG in this encounter, and with the visitors minus Kylian Mbappe again for this encounter, it promises to be a hard fought and tight match. Significant odds against a low-scoring match are too big to ignore.