Lyon make the trip to Roazhon Park to face Rennes in their opening Ligue 1 fixture of the 2024-25 campaign on Sunday afternoon.
These two teams secured top-half finishes last season and have aspirations of qualifying for European football this term.
Match preview
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After challenging for the Champions League qualification spots in the previous few seasons, Rennes' high standards slipped in 2023-24 and they had to settle for 10th spot in Ligue 1 - their joint-lowest top-flight finish for a decade.
Julien Stephan took charge of Les Rouge et Noirs in November last year and has since overseen a squad overhaul this summer, with over £60m recouped from five player sales and around £40m spent on seven new signings.
Rennes won three, drew two and lost one of their six friendly fixtures over the summer, ending pre-season on a high with a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen thanks to a second-half goal from Benjamin Bourigeaud.
Reflecting on his side's pre-season campaign, Stephan believes that there were "many positive lessons to be learned and corrections to be made", and the 43-year-old was particularly pleased to give a lot of first-team members time to gel and build chemistry as well as match fitness ahead of the new season.
Les Rouge et Noirs, who won just three of their final 12 Ligue 1 matches last season, will be keen to make a positive start to the new campaign against a Lyon outfit whom they beat 3-2 away from home in their most recent meeting in January.
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Lyon were facing the unthinkable prospect of relegation from Ligue 1 midway through last season after winning just one of their opening 15 games, but the arrival of head coach Pierre Sage sparked a stunning transformation.
Indeed, no French top-flight team have accumulated more points in 2024 than Lyon (37), who propelled themselves from the foot of the table to sixth place and have secured Europa League football for the 2024-25 season.
Les Gones have since been busy in the summer transfer window, recruiting eight players for a combined fee of almost £100m, while Jake O'Brien is their most notable departure - the Republic of Ireland international has joined Everton for around £16.4m after just one season in France.
Two wins, two defeats and one draw have been posted from five pre-season friendlies, with Lyon most recently losing 2-0 against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
Lyon head into Sunday's contest having lost four of their last six meetings with Rennes, but they did beat Les Rouge et Noirs on their last visit to Roazhon Park, winning 1-0 in November last year.
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Team News
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Rennes have seen some important players from last season leave the club this summer, including Enzo Le Fee, Martin Terrier and Jeanuel Belocian, while star winger Desire Doue is on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain for a reported fee close to €60m.
Nevertheless, midfield trio Albert Gronbaek, Glen Kamara and Jordan James have all joined the club and are in contention to make their debuts this weekend, as is full-back Hans Hateboer, centre-back Leo Ostigard and forward Henrik Meister.
Benjamin Bourigeaud and Arnaud Kalimuendo both scored a team-high 15 goals last season and are expected to be named in the starting lineup on Sunday.
As for Lyon, Moussa Niakhate has been their most expensive signing so far this summer, joining from Nottingham Forest for around £27m, and the central defender is set to make his debut alongside Duje Caleta-Car.
Lucas Perri is set to take the number one jersey from Anthony Lopes this season, while Corentin Tolisso, Maxence Caqueret and Nemanja Matic could all link arms in midfield against Rennes.
It remains to be seen whether Alexandre Lacazette will feature up front having recently represented France at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning a silver medal, but Georges Mikautadze is poised to make his Lyon debut, potentially starting in attack alongside Said Benrahma.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Seidu, Wooh, Ostigard, Assignon; Bourigeaud, Gronbaek, Kamara, Blas; Gouiri, Kalimuendo
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Perri; Vinicius, Caleta-Car, Niakhate, Mata; Tolisso, Caqueret, Matic; Benrahma, Lacazette, Mikautadze
We say: Rennes 1-2 Lyon
Both teams will be keen to make a winning start to the new campaign and will fancy their chances of success having beaten each other last season, but we are backing the visitors to prevail, as they did in their last visit to Roazhon Park.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
