French giants Olympique Lyon play host to their top 3 rivals Rennes, with both sides looking to close the gap behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Les Gones have started the season well, having recorded some very good results on both domestic and international stage, but the good run didn’t last long.

While Remi Garde’s side continued with impressive performances at their Gerland, they were utterly disappointing on the travels, losing five of last six away games in all competitions.

After back to back wins over Saint Etienne in Coupe de la Ligue and Ligue 1 helped the players restore some of the lost confidence, defeats to Real Madrid and Sochaux were seen as major blows, and Lyon are now looking for another morale-boosting win.

Even if Remi Garde’s men face a tough task against Rennes, they are still rated favourites at Stan James, with home win paying 1.87 (20/23).

After spending two and a half months on the sidelines, striker Lisandro Lopez resumed full training, but he will have to settle for a place on the bench. Clement Grenier and Michel Bastos are also back, but Dejan Lovren remains sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Lloris – Reveillere, Cris, Kone, Cissokho – Gourcuff, Gonalons, Kallstrom – Briand, Gomis, Lacazette.

Due to their Europa League commitments, Rennes started their season earlier than other French sides and they were doing really well in the opening stage of the season.

However, the hectic schedule soon started to take its toll, so we saw a small dip in form, and the last few weeks have been really difficult for les Bretons.

During this period, Frederic Antonetti’s side were eliminated from Coupe de la Ligue, lost almost all chances to make it to Europa League knockout rounds, while picking up just one points from two Ligue 1 games.

This may prove to be a blessing in disguise as Rennes will finally be able to fully focus on the league campaign, and seeing they are now just two points adrift of third-placed Lille, the odds of 4.50 (7/2) offered by Unibet on Rennes to finish in top 3 could be worth a shot.

Coach Frederic Antonetti faces some selection problems before the Lyon game as Yann M’Vila and Razak Boukari have both picked up injuries on international duty and are rated doubtful for this clash.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Costil – Danze, Mangane, Kana-Biyik, Theophile Catherine – M’Vila, Doumbia – Pitroipa, Feret, Kembo-Ekoko – Montano.