Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Rennesvs.Lens

sportsmole.co.uk, 19 September 2024, 20:34
Rennes will look to extend their positive home record in the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season when they take on unbeaten Lens at Roazhon Park in the Derby du Nord on Saturday evening.

The hosts are in seventh place after the first five games with six points earned, while the visitors have taken eight points over the same period and are currently fourth.

Match preview

After experiencing their worst league placement since 2018-19 last term, Rennes have not exactly made the start to the new season that they would have wanted to.

Following an impressive 3-0 win over Lyon on opening weekend, Les Rennais suffered back-to-back defeats away to Strasbourg and Reims, but returned to winning ways after the international break, overcoming Montpellier 3-0.

The one major positive for Julien Stephan, though, is that both his side's victories came in their two home games this season, during which they scored six goals, which is the second-best home tally in the league behind Paris Saint-Germain's nine.

Notably, the Red and Blacks have now scored in every league match at Roazhon Park since Stephan arrived in Rennes in mid-November last year (12 games in total).

When these two met last, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at this venue with Angelo Fulgini and Ibrahim Salah's goals cancelling each other out. That result extended Rennes' winless run against this opponent to eight in a row, including four draws and four losses.

Meanwhile, Lens have laid a solid platform this season, taking eight points from their first four league games, making them one of only four sides still unbeaten heading into gameweek five.

The Blood and Gold kicked off the new campaign with consecutive wins over Angers and Brest, stole a late point away to Monaco ahead of the international break, and played out a goalless draw to Lyon last week.

With those results, combined with a win and two draws over their final three games last season, Lens now have the joint-longest active unbeaten streak in the top flight (7) alongside Monaco.

The one major stain on their otherwise impressive performance this season, though, was their 2-0 second-leg Conference League qualifier defeat to Panathinaikos, which denied them European football this season.

Still, new boss Will Still has undoubtedly earned a fair few admirers over the early stages of the season, and he now has an opportunity to lead his side to a third unbeaten match on the road, something they have not achieved since between January and February this year.

Rennes Ligue 1 form:

Rennes form (all competitions):

W

D

W

L

L

W

Lens Ligue 1 form:

Lens form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

D

D

Team News

Rennes have two confirmed squad absentees for this weekend's fixture, with goalkeeper Dogan Alemdar and winger Carlos Andres Gomez ruled out owing to a cruciate ligament tear and shin injury respectively.

The good news for the home side, though, is that Leo Ostigard will be eligible to return from suspension this week and should slot straight back alongside Christopher Wooh in central defence.

Lens were hopeful of having Kevin Danso available from after the international break, but the centre-back is reportedly still feeling discomfort and is likely to remain sidelined for another couple of weeks.

Deiver Machado returned from his red card suspension last week against Lyon and should keep his place in midfield alongside Adrien Thomasson, Andy Diouf and Przemyslaw Frankowski.

Rennes possible starting lineup:

Mandanda; Ostigard, Wooh, Seidu, Assignon, Santamaria, Matusiwa, Truffert; Gronbaek, Kalimuendo, Blas

Lens possible starting lineup:

Samba; Medina, Khusanov, Gradit; Machado, Diouf, Costa, Frankowski; Thomasson; Sotoca, Said

We say: Rennes 1-1 Lens

Matches between these two are generally very evenly balanced, with both games last season ending level, while neither side have won by more than a single goal in their last six meetings.

Based on their early form this season, we are expecting another closely contested encounter this weekend and feel there will be nothing to split these two at the final whistle.

Previews by email

Top News

23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United transfer target Randal Kolo Muani is very likely to leave Paris Saint-Germain in the January transfer window, according to reports. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on West Ham United attacker Mohammed Kudus, with Pep Guardiola keen to strengthen his struggling squad. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly set to rival Arsenal for the signature of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer of 2025. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The final Premier League gameweek before Christmas appropriately served up some crackers, including a festive feast of goals in North London, where Liverpool ran riot in an exhilarating 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Even when the pulse settled a little after this compellingspectacle it was still difficult to know quite where to start todissect this nine-goal thriller. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Ange Postecoglou cut an irritated figure as he claimed he's going to stop answering questions about Tottenham's tactics. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Borussia Dortmund attacker Julian Brandt next month. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Mohamed Salah refused to give anything away when asked whether he could break Ian Rush's all-time goalscoring record after the Reds' remarkable 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's astonishing 6-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening saw a multitude of records and achievements surpassed, as the Reds moved four points clear at the top of the table. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Ahli have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign Marcus Rashford, with the Manchester United attacker widely expected to be on the move during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Everton have become surprise leaders in one statistic across Europe thanks to their draw at home to Chelsea. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will spend Christmas Day four points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a breathtaking 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in North London. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Kylian Mbappe struck a landmark effort to put himself firmly among Real Madrid's elite. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that he is "absolutely happy" with his side's goalless draw at Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 talksport.com If you thought Mohamed Salah couldn't set yet another record, think again. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk For a second time in successive Gulf Cup competitions, The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait will meet in the group stage, with this upcoming game taking place on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Amad International Stadium in Kuwait City. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong is supposedly not a 'concrete target' for Liverpool amid speculation over Trent Alexander-Arnold's future. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid moved into second spot in the La Liga table courtesy of a 4-2 success over Sevilla in Sunday afternoon's contest at Bernabeu, with Los Blancos ending 2024 on a high note. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Oman and Qatar will compete in the Gulf Cup for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, each seeking their first victory in this edition of the tournament. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly received offers from three clubs for defender Eric Garcia, but the player is pushing against a move away from Catalonia during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have broken two unwanted club Premier League records in their humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk New Wolverhampton Wanderers' boss Vitor Pereira earned three points when his side comfortably beat Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City 3-0 away from home on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Aaron Ramsdale was spotted wearing a modified goalkeeper glove in Southampton's Premier League clash at Fulham. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea squandered the chance to go top of the Premier League table for a couple of hours as Everton held the Blues to a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Djed Spence has been named in the Tottenham Hotspur starting XI for their Premier League clash with Liverpool, while Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo get the nod up front for the visitors. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Manchester United were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth in a defeat that saw Ruben Amorim's side achieve an unwanted record. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Gary Neville believes that Ruben Amorim will allow Marcus Rashford to leave Manchester United for the sake of 'himself and the club'. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Pep Guardiola isn't immune from the sack at Manchester City having continued their unprecedented and dismal run of form. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have reportedly earmarked Leeds United shot-stopper Illan Meslier as one of two goalkeeper targets ahead of the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly identified Burnley's James Trafford as their top transfer target for the January transfer window.