Marseille, Bordeaux and Rennes are all in difficulty in their respective UEFA Europa League groups, but can keep qualification chances alive with wins on Thursday night.
UEFA Europa League, Matchday 4
Group H
SS Lazio – Olympique de Marseille 
>> Live scoring from 18:55 CET
Currently propping up Group H with just a single point to their name, last season’s UEFA Europa League runners-up Marseille are in make-or-break territory as they head to Rome to face Lazio on Thursday.
After a shock 3-0 defeat away to Montpellier in Ligue 1 Conforama at the weekend – the club’s third loss in as many matches in all competitions – coach Rudi Garcia will make a raft of changes with a view to avenging the 3-1 home defeat to Lazio on Matchday 3.
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“I said I would make changes, and that’s what I’ll do,” said the OM boss, tipped to rest World-Cup winning winger Florian Thauvin as well as habitual captain Luiz Gustavo for the trip. “Players who haven’t had much game time will certainly be in the starting line-up, while others get a physical or psychological breather. It’s time to delve into the squad’s depth; we lost to Lazio with our so-called best team, and by injecting some freshness and drive, we’re hoping to do much better than last time out.”
Probable teams
SS Lazio: Strakosha; Luiz Filipe, Acerbi, Radu (c); Marusic, Caceres, Parolo, Citaldi, Milinkovic-Savic; Caisedo, Correa
Olympique de Marseille: Mandanda; Sakai, Caleta-Car, Rami, Bouna Sarr; M. Lopez, Strootman, Payet (c); Ocampos, Radonjic, Njie
Group C
Girondins de Bordeaux – FC Zenit Saint Petersburg 
>> Live scoring from 21:00 CET
Still pointless after three matches that included strong – but, crucially, unrewarded – performances against FC Kobenhavn and Zenit, Eric Bédouet’s Bordeaux are in dire straits as the second half of the group stage begins and can basically ill-afford anything other than victory at home to Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg on Thursday.
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Les Girondins produced an encouraging performance to draw 1-1 with Lyon at the weekend and will be looking to top-scorer François Kamano and Danish striker Andreas Cornelius – who bagged his first goal for the club in the Lyon match – to do the damage and clinch a result that puts a dent in their four-point deficit behind third-placed Kobenhavn.
Probable teams
Girondins de Bordeaux: Costil (c); Palencia, Jovanovic, Pablo, Sabaly; Plasil, Lerager, Sankharé; Kalu, Kamano, Cornelius
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg: Louniov; Anioukov (c), Neto, Mammana, Nabioulline; Marchisio, Paredes; Driussi, Chatov, Kouzyaïev; Zabolotni
Group K
FC Dynamo Kyiv – Stade Rennais FC 
>> Live scoring from 18:55 CET
Sabri Lamouchi’s Rennes have perhaps the best chances of qualifying of any of Ligue 1 Conforama’s three UEFA Europa League representatives, their Matchday 1 win over FK Jablonec 97 leaving them just a single point behind leading duo FC Astana and Kyiv – who beat them 2-1 at home on Matchday 3.
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A 2-1 away win over Caen in the league will have been a welcome confidence boost for the Brittany side as they head to Ukraine looking to make a statement and take a step towards clinching a last-16 spot. Star forward Hatem Ben Arfa is tipped to start up front alongside Jordan Siebatcheu in a 4-4-2.
Probable teams
FC Dynamo Kyiv: Boyko; Kedziora, Bourda, Mykolenko, Pivaric; Tchê Tchê, Bouyalski; Tsigankov (c), Shaparenko, Sidcley; Verpic
Stade Rennais FC: Koubek; Traoré, Gélin, Da Silva, Bensebaini; André (c), Léa-Siliki, Del Castillo, Bourigeaud; Siebatcheu, Ben Arfa
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