Stade Rennes vs Lorient Prediction: Stade Rennes have no excuses!

Stade Rennes are back in action this week and their target is to get a win against Lorient. Their form in the league has been fantastic, which suggests this game might be a stroll in the park for the Stade Rennes team. 

Lorient will be fighting to recover from a defeat they suffered in their last game against Nantes. They had been on a 4-match unbeaten streak prior to the defeat, so they can be positive about their current form and ability. But at the moment, playing Stade Rennes at home might be a very tough job for Lorient.

Stade Rennes

Stade Rennes are giving the top 6 spot a chase and it's a surprise they are still just outside the top 6 after a run of good results in the Ligue 1. However given their present form, surely that won't be the case for too long. 

Stade Rennes had a mixture of emotions last month after crashing out of the Europa League and advancing in the Coup de France a few days ago. But now they turn their attention to Ligue 1, where they have quite a fantastic record to protect.

Stade Rennes played against Le Puy in the Coup de France Quarter Final a few days ago. There wasn't much change to the lineup that drew against PSG on the 25th last month. Steve Mandanda was replaced by Gauthier Gallon between the sticks and the team played the 4-4-2 formation as always. Arthur Theate gave Rennes the lead in just 8 minutes and then Benjamin Bourigeaud scored a brace in the second half to end the game 3-1. And it was a dominant performance by Stade Rennes in every sense. The possession was shared equally between both teams and Rennes had 6 shots on target and 7 corner kicks. They also created 7 big chances and missed 4 of them. 

Rennes manager Julien Stéphan is expected to retain the starting lineup as well as the formation and Steve Mandanda will definitely return to the 11 between the sticks. 

Lorient

Lorient were probably disappointed to have lost the game against Nantes last weekend. It was always going to be a tough trip but they were very confident in their quality and form. But in the end it wasn't meant to be. Now they face an even tougher opponent and they are in need of a response.

There was just 1 goal to separate both clubs when Lorient faced Nantes at the Stade Yves Allainmat-Le Moustoir. Jean-Charles Castelleto scored the crucial goal that ended Lorient's winning run. 

Lorient manager Regis Le Bris played a 3-4-2-1 formation against Nantes and there were a few positives from the game. Lorient had more possession (64%) but it was a dull performance from the attacking players as they only managed 1 shot on target all game. The team also created 1 big chance and Yvon Mvogo made 5 saves in the game.

Regis Le Bris will have a big decision to make ahead of the trip to Brest. If he intends to win then he'll need to pay attention to the attacking setup of the team. Mohamed Bamba had a very tough game against Nantes with little scoring opportunities. He is more likely to make the starting lineup against Stade Brest, but it won't get any better unless the attacking style is addressed.

Head to Head

According to the h2h, In their last 20 meetings, Lorient won 5 games, while Stade Rennes won 9 and they played a draw in 5 games.

Analysis and Predictions

Stade Rennes are the outright favorites to win and respect to Lorient but they are nowhere near a qualified opposition for Rennes. Especially with Rennes playing at home.

According to the h2h, Lorient have won the last 3 meetings. Rennes are without a clean sheet in the last 3 and there's been less than 10.5 corners in their last 10 meetings.

• Stade Rennes to Win and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.73 Odds
• Stade Rennes to Win and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.73 Odds
• Stade Rennes to Win 2-1 at 8.50 Odds