Nantes vs Rennes
French Ligue 1
Date: Saturday, 22nd October 2016
Kick-Off at 19:00 BST
Venue: Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes.
Rennes won 0-2 last term at the Stade de la Beaujoire and followed up that success with a 4-1 hammering of Les Canaris in the return.
However, Nantes go into this season’s first encounter in good heart after back to back wins against Bastia and Lorient and the hosts have certainly looked a far more solid unit over the past few weeks under the leadership of new manager Rene Girard.
That pair of victories has lifted Nantes up to 13th in the table and they are just three points behind Saturday’s visitors Rennes who drew 1-1 at home to Bordeaux last weekend.
Like Nantes, Rennes also have a new manager this term in the shape of former Algeria coach Christian Gourcuff who returns for a second spell after managing the club during the 2001/02 campaign.
After a sound 8th place finish in 2015/16, Rennes will be hoping that Gourcuff can get Les Rouges et Noirs in contention for European qualification this time around although his team will need to bridge the gap between their home and away form.
Rennes have won four and drawn one of their five home fixtures so far this season but have only claimed one point from a possible 12 on the road.
That puts them at a real disadvantage here against a side who will be determined to win three on the spin and who are unlikely to give much away.
The only thing really putting backers off Nantes in this game is their poor return in front of goal with only six scored in nine outings.
That makes 23/20 for a home win seem a little skinny so we’ll go for under 1.5 goals on the basis of the above and chance a narrow 1-0 success for the hosts in the correct score market.
Nantes v Rennes: Head-to-Head Stats
Nantes have not beaten Rennes for six matches either home or away and this stretches back to 2013. Last season Rennes won at Nantes by 2-0. They also thrashed them this year 4-1. These stats get worse for Nantes when we see that the Canaries has not beaten Rennes at the Stade de la Beaujoire for 11 years.
Nantes vs Rennes: Prediction
The thinking in this game is that Nantes should get all three points, however it is quite clear to see that Rennes are Nantes’ bogey team. We can also counter argue that Rennes’ terrible form away from home simply won’t continue and what better way to end it than at Nantes where the club has enjoyed so much success?
Nantes vs Rennes: Betting Tips
Rennes to win with handicap +1 at 7/10 (1.70).
