Looking to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season, Rennes welcome Lille to Roazhon Park on Saturday afternoon.
Following a run of three successive draws, the hosts trail the visitors by one point in the Ligue 1 table, with four matches in the books.
Match preview
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Rennes kicked off their campaign with a dominant 5-1 thrashing of newly-promoted Metz, racking up 29 shots - 14 of which were on target - while enjoying 71% possession on home soil, with substitute Ibrahim Salah bagging a quick-fire brace in the rout.
Since then, however, Les Rennais have recorded three consecutive draws, playing out a 1-1 stalemate with Lens before throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Ligue 1 newcomers Le Havre, despite registering 62% possession and 22 shots on that occasion.
Prior to the international break, Rennes served up a goalless stalemate with Brest, although Bruno Genesio's men can count themselves fortunate to have picked up a point at the Stade Francis-Le Ble after facing a barrage of 13 shots from the hosts.
Of course, the Black and Reds will be pleased to have avoided defeat so far this season, but they will also be eager to start turning draws into wins, as they have taken six points from a possible 12 in 2023-24, with their last victory coming over a month ago.
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Lille started the season by recording a 1-1 draw at Nice on the opening weekend, with centre-back Bafode Diakite equalising in the 94th minute to snatch a point for his side at the Allianz Riviera, before Les Dogues claimed a 2-0 victory over Nantes.
However, Paulo Fonseca's men were humiliated by Lorient in their third match, suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Les Merlus, who raced into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes to take the game away from Lille, despite the visitors notching 18 shots while enjoying the lion's share of the ball.
LOSC wasted no time in returning to winning ways, though, as they secured a 1-0 victory over Montpellier before the international break, with Yusuf Yazici's second-minute strike proving to be the difference between the teams at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Thanks to a 3-2 aggregate triumph against Croatian side Rijeka in the Europa Conference League playoffs, Lille have lost just one of their six matches across all competitions this term, securing three wins and two draws to start the season on a high note.
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Team News
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Long-term absentee Martin Terrier (knee) remains Rennes' sole injury concern at the moment, as the 26-year-old forward has not participated in any competitive action since January.
With Terrier on the sidelines and Jeremy Doku enjoying life at Manchester City, the hosts look set to line up with a front three of Ludovic Blas, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Amine Gouiri on Saturday, leaving Ibrahim Salah on the bench.
Having arrived from Roma last month, former Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic will operate in Rennes' engine room, with Benjamin Bourigeaud and Enzo Le Fee expected to join the veteran in midfield.
On the flip side, Lille are still without long-term absentee Tiago Djalo (knee), while Algerian midfielder Adam Ounas (muscle) will also miss Saturday's clash after sustaining an injury in the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Paulo Fonseca will likely stick with a 3-4-3 formation this weekend, meaning that Remy Cabella and Ivan Cavaleiro will join star striker Jonathan David in attack, with young Englishman Angel Gomes operating in midfield.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Assignon, Omari, Theate, Truffert; Bourigeaud, Matic, Le Fee; Blas, Kalimuendo, Gouiri
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Santos, Yoro, Alexsandro; Yazici, Andre, Gomes, Gudmundsson; Cabella, David, Cavaleiro
We say: Rennes 2-1 Lille
Given that both sides have made a strong start to the 2023-24 campaign, we can see Rennes and Lille serving up an intriguing contest at Roazhon Park.
Les Rennais have already scored seven goals in two home games this term, so we expect the hosts to edge out the visitors in what promises to be a closely-fought battle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
