Rennes vs Saint Etienne preview

February 3, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Saint Etienne vs RennesMatchday 24 in French Ligue 1 ends with a clash between top 5 hopefuls Rennes and Saint Etienne, who square off at Roazhon Park.

Having failed to live up to the billing in recent years, les Bretons are finally showing signs of promise and they currently sit mere three points behind Champions League positions.

Rennes enjoyed an excellent start to the season, and while they did go through a couple of rough patches, the team would recover well each time.

Les Bretons were probably not too downhearted by the home loss to minnows Bourg en Bresse as it was sandwiched between league triumphs over Troyes and Ajaccio.

However, the good run of results came to an abrupt end as Rennes were hammered by Bordeaux last time out and they will certainly want to return to the right track against Saint Etienne.

But, having won just one of last nine league fixtures on home soil, les Bretons will have to work really hard for the win on Thursday evening.

Coach Rolland Courbis has confirmed that star midfielder Yoann Gourcuff will not be risked after suffering a leg injury, but Pedro Mendes is back in contention.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Costil – Danze, Mexer, Armand, M’Bengue – Sylla, Fernandes, Andre, Quintero – Sio, Ntep.

Unlike Rennes, Saint Etienne have done pretty well of late, making several Europa League appearances, and even mounting a serious challenge for Champions League positions.

They have had mixed success this season and currently occupy 9th position in the standings, albeit sitting mere four points behind third-placed Angers.

When current form is concerned, les Verts have been blowing hot and cold, narrowly progressing through two stages of Coupe de France, while winning just one of last four league fixtures.

And while the derby triumph over Lyon came at a perfect time, they would go on to take just one point from next two games.

While January recruits Alexander Soderlund and Franck Tabanou slotted straight into the starting line-up, deadline day signing Ole Selnaes could make his first appearance against Rennes.

Coach Christophe Galtier is forced to contend with a lengthy injury list that contains Loic Perrin, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Francois Clerc, Robert Beric, Romain Hamouma and Pierre Polomat, among others.

Probable starting line-up (3-4-3): Ruffier – Theophile Catherine, Bayal Sall, Pogba – Malcuit, Lemoine, Cohade, Tabanou – Monnet-Pacquet, Soderlund, Behebeck.

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