Rennes will be more desperate than ever to end their torrid losing run when they play host to Strasbourg at the Roazhon Park in Ligue 1 this Sunday.
The hosts fell to their sixth defeat on the bounce against Marseille last time out, whereas Strasbourg managed to derail Monaco's title bid with a 1-0 triumph over Les Monegasques.
Match preview
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In a battle between two fresh faces on the Ligue 1 sidelines, Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli came out on top against recently-appointed Rennes manager Bruno Genesio as Les Olympiens left it late to secure a 1-0 victory in Wednesday's top-flight battle.
The tie seemed destined to end goalless before Marseille super sub Michael Cuisance climbed highest to head home the winner in the 88th minute, with that result condemning Genesio to the worst possible start in the Rouge et Noir dugout as his side slumped to a sixth-straight defeat across all competitions, as well as extending their winless streak to nine matches.
After being tipped as early title contenders under the recently-departed Julien Stephan, Rennes are facing an uphill battle to secure a European berth as they lie 10th in the standings - six points adrift of the top five - and only basement side Dijon are enduring a worse losing run than Les Rouge et Noir, who are in dire need of inspiration.
A 2-1 win at Brest on January 17 represents the only victory that Rennes have managed to register in their 12 outings since the turn of the year, although Genesio's crop have not always had luck on their side this term, as the 15 times they have rattled the woodwork can only be bettered by Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, who have hit the post 19 times apiece.
Les Rouge et Noir are still searching for their first home win of 2021 and have suffered back-to-back defeats at the Roazhon Park to Saint-Etienne and Nice recently - another defeat on home soil would see them lose three in a row on familiar territory for the first time since 2013 - and such a scenario is certainly possible against a Strasbourg side buoyed by an historic win against Monaco.
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On a night where Monaco duo Wissam Ben Yedder and Kevin Volland were expected to demonstrate their prowess in front of goal, it was a certain Frederic Guilbert who instead settled the tie as Strasbourg dealt a huge blow to Les Monegasques' title hopes at the Stade de la Meinau.
The Aston Villa loanee was allowed to foray forward unchallenged by the Monaco defence in the dying embers of the match, and Niko Kovac's rearguard paid the price for backing off as Guilbert lashed an unstoppable left-footed strike into the far corner of the net, although there were questions over Benjamin Lecomte's goalkeeping.
However, Guilbert's strike - his third goal contribution for Strasbourg in four matches since his January arrival - propelled Strasbourg to a morale-boosting win just days after they held league leaders Lille to a 1-1 draw, and Thierry Laurey has now witnessed his side go unbeaten in their last four matches in the top flight.
Strasbourg's unbeaten run is even more impressive when taking into account that all the teams they have played in that run currently occupy spots in the top half of the table, and the 14th-placed Coureurs have opened up an eight-point gap between themselves and the bottom three, so they should have no fears of relegation if their hot streak continues in the coming weeks.
Furthermore, Strasbourg have lost just two of their last eight away matches in Ligue 1 and thrashed Rennes 4-1 at the Roazhon Park in December 2018, although Les Rouge et Noir have won two and drawn one against their weekend opponents since, with November's meeting ending in a 1-1 stalemate.
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Team News
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Rennes duo Hamari Traore and Jonas Martin both served suspensions in midweek and are available for this fixture, with the latter potentially in line to start after Clement Grenier twisted his ankle in the defeat to Marseille.
However, Benjamin Bourigeaud will hope to be given the nod in midfield if Grenier is not given the green light to feature, while Traore should return in place of Brandon Soppy at right-back.
Adrien Hunou boasts four goals against Strasbourg but is unlikely to be considered for a start this weekend, while captain Damien Da Silva will hope to return after being benched for his side's last two outings.
Versatile Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku, who was recently voted the club's player of the month for February, was taken off with a leg injury in the 78th minute against Monaco and will now spend approximately one month on the sidelines.
Djiku joins fellow highy-rated defender Mohamed Simakan in the infirmary, with the 20-year-old not expected back for another couple of weeks, but goalkeeper Matz Sels is finally nearing a return to action after a lengthy layoff with an Achilles problem and could be available this weekend.
However, Eiji Kawashima is not expected to lose his place in goal just yet, while Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is a candidate to deputise for Djiku in midfield, although Ibrahima Sissoko and Jean-Eudes Aholou are also back from suspension and injury respectively.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Gomis; Traore, Da Silva, Aguerd, Truffert; Nzonzi, Camavinga, Bourigeaud; Doku, Guirassy, Terrier
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Kawashima; Kone, Mitrovic, Carole; Guilbert, Sissoko, Aholou, Caci; Thomasson; Ajorque, Diallo
We say: Rennes 0-1 Strasbourg
On paper, a well-rested and in-form Strasbourg coming up against a fatigued and out-of-form Rennes is a recipe for disaster for the hosts, who will be hoping that a new manager bounce kicks in before the visit of Laurey's men. It is extremely difficult to back Les Rouge et Noir in their current form, while Strasbourg have taken points off of Lille and Monaco in their last two outings, so there is no reason to suggest that Les Coureurs cannot defy the odds once again and prevail on the Roazhon Park turf.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rennes win with a probability of 50.65%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Strasbourg had a probability of 24.05%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rennes win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.04%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.46%) and 2-1 (9.43%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.01%), while for a Strasbourg win it was 0-1 (7.65%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Rennes in this match.
