Paris: Paris Saint-Germain play their first game in 2018 as they begin their quest to win the French Cup for the fourth year running with a trip to Rennes on Sunday.

PSG may have missed out to Monaco for the Ligue 1 title last season but they won both domestic cups. Indeed, they have won 33 consecutive domestic cup ties going back four years.

Extending that sequence is the priority at the start of the new year, with the game in Brittany being followed by a League Cup quarter-final at Amiens on Wednesday before Ligue 1 resumes next weekend.

The Cups are “very important objectives”, coach insisted Unai Emery, as his side returned to training after the winter break.

In the back of their minds will be the Champions League last-16 showdown with Real Madrid in February. Lagging behind PSG in the league and already out of Europe, the French Cup takes on added importance for Monaco, who visit fourth-tier minnows Yzeure.

Radamel Falcao will miss the opening game of the year, ahead of which coach Leonardo Jardim spent more time batting away questions about possible departures in the January window.

Speculation continues to link Thomas Lemar with a move away after Liverpool and Arsenal failed with big offers in August.

Fabinho is more likely to leave in the summer, while Terence Kongolo and Soualiho Meite have already moved on loan to Huddersfield Town and Bordeaux respectively.

Agence France-Presse