Fifth-tier club RC Calais seek to stun Ligue 1 side Strasbourg in Saturday's round of 64 Coupe de France encounter at Stade de l'Epopee.
The hosts, established 18 months ago in June 2023 after Calais Racing Union's 2017 liquidation, have already outdone last year's run and aim to secure a spot in the round of 32 at the expense of their top-flight visitors.
Match preview
Calais could inflict one of the domestic cup's biggest shock results this weekend when they take on Liam Rosenior's Strasbourg side.
The hosts had a promising first year after its establishment, securing promotion to the Championnat National 3 at the first time of asking, even if results in the fifth tier have been mixed, highlighted by notching three wins in 11 league games, placing them 10th on 13 points, one shy of dropping into the dreaded spots.
Results in the cup have been more uplifting, with Olivier Laridon's men beating Les Ulis (3-1) and Le Touquet (1-0) to set up this weekend's meeting with their Ligue 1 visitors.
Last term's journey ended with defeat in the eighth round to Caen, with Laridon's side falling to a 4-1 loss at the hands of the second-tier opponent but face a theoretically sterner challenge on Saturday having already exceeded their 2023-24 progress.
While this season's run has been aided by facing clubs in the sixth and eighth tiers in the previous rounds, compared to playing Longueau (then a tier-six side) and Caen, Calais aim to claim a first cup victory over a club from a higher division this time.
That outcome is easier said than done, given Strasbourg's significantly superior resources and the gap in quality between both sides.
The timing of this weekend's fixture may have been detrimental to the top-tier side a fortnight earlier, but Le Racing notching four points from six in Ligue 1 suggests a return to form for the Alsace-based club.
By avoiding defeat against Reims (0-0) and Le Havre (3-0), Le RCS snapped a four-match losing sequence, and Rosenior hopes to avoid another setback in Calais to continue his side's confidence rebuild.
Even though they were eliminated at this stage two seasons back on penalties to Angers before losing another shootout in last season's quarter-final against Lyon, Strasbourg hope to prevent Saturday's round of 64 tie going the distance, having also exited on spot kicks to Avranches in 2016-17 at the round of 16.
It will be interesting to see what version of the Ligue 1 side emerges in Calais this weekend: the side that lost four on the trot and failed to keep a clean sheet in seven consecutive Ligue 1 fixtures or the one to recently secure successive shutouts heading into their Coupe De France opener.
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