While Ligue 1 contenders Monaco go into the French Cup as the team to beat, minnows Moulins and Cannes as well as Angers and Lens are also included in a surprise quarter-final lineup.

Amateur fourth division side AS Moulins were just days from liquidation in 2012 when they managed to come up with the 200,000 euros necessary to stay in business, a sum that would hardly pay a week's salary for some of the Monaco players.

Playing in front of crowds in the region of 1,000 fans, they now stand two matches from a dream date at the Stade de France, a bumper payout and even a place in the Europa League.

They host Angers on Tuesday, a club enjoying a fine campaign of their own and just outside the promotion places back to Ligue 1.

Most of the Moulins' squad, maintain jobs outside of football, but that has not stopped them taking the scalps of top flight clubs Lorient and Toulouse in previous rounds.

Club chairman Vincent Rondet is expecting the tie to generate great enthusiasm with the match set to be played at neighbouring, fifth division club Gueugnon's 14,000-capacity Jean-Laville stadium.

"This has never happened to the club and there's a real excitement in the city which is decorated in blue and white," said Rondet.

"We are awaiting one of the great teams in Ligue 2 (Angers) and I hope we can have the most people possible at the stadium so it will be a great party." he added.

Cannes, a destination more renowned for its glitzy lifestyle and world famous film festival, are the second fourth division side entertaining dreams of writing an unprecedented page in French Cup history.

They tackle Ligue 1 side Guingamp at their Pierre de Coubertin stadium hoping to add to the Brittany's clubs recent slide which included a 1-0 home defeat against Lyon on Sunday.

The third, and on paper most balanced tie, is between Ligue 1 rivals Rennes and Lille on Thursday, which will provide a welcome distraction for both teams from their contrasting league fortunes.

Lille are coming off a well deserved 1-1 draw at Monaco at the weekend but are battling to protect third spot and the all important final Champions League place for next season.

Coach Rene Girard, who won the 2012 league championship with Montpellier, has worked wonders with the northern club as they stand on the brink of Cup success and a place in Europe's most prestigious competition.

Rennes meanwhile upset Marseille 1-0 at the Velodrome on Saturday to pull six points clear of the relegation zone.

Monaco appear resigned to settle for the runner-up place this season in Ligue 1 after falling 10 points back of fellow big spenders Paris Saint-Germain.

Their greatest chance of silverware is the French Cup and their Italian coach Claudio Ranieri is expected to field a strong line-up against second division Lens on Wednesday.

Lens, the 1998 French champions, travel to the Louis II stadium looking for their first French Cup after losing finals in 1948, 1975 and 1998.

A return to the top flight is their priority, lying second in their division, and a domestic double would delight their raucous 'blood and gold' supporters who last went to the Stade de France in 2008 when they lost the League Cup final 2-1 against Paris Saint-Germain.

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