St Etiennevs.Rennes

Only Manchester City spent more in January than the relegation-threatened club, and this fixture could see them hand out debuts to a number of players.

Match preview

In the hope of turning their disastrous season around, Rennes spent roughly €85m (£70m) over the course of the winter transfer window, adding reinforcements in every area of the pitch.

The Red and Blacks have also made a change in the dugout, sacking Jorge Sampaoli after just over two months in charge and replacing him with Habib Beye, who won his first game in charge last week.

A 1-0 success against Strasbourg ended Sampaoli's five-game losing run, with four of those coming in the league, as well as the Coupe de France exit to Troyes.

Rennes can now continue that momentum by winning back-to-back league games for the first time in 12 months, after moving out of the bottom three last weekend.

One concern will be the fact this game is being played away from Roazhon Park, because Rennes have one of the worst records on the road of any club in Europe.

With just one point from their nine away games so far, it is not difficult to see why Rennes are fighting near the bottom, even though their home form in isolation would have them battling for the top four.

No team has scored more goals than Rennes in the entire bottom half, suggesting the talent is there, they just now need to become a cohesive unit under Beye, as a few wins could lift them close to the top half.

The team standing in their way and hoping to capitalise on their dreadful away form is Saint-Etienne, who are also under new management, following the appointment of Eirik Horneland during the winter break.

Despite leading at Lille last weekend, ASSE eventually succumbed to a 4-1 defeat, dropping into the bottom three due to Rennes' win, with Nantes also moving three points clear of them.

Confidence will be high in front of a home crowd though, considering a whopping 89% of Saint-Etienne's points this season have come at the Guichard, where they have won five of their nine league games.

With eight matches still to play at the Guichard this season, Les Verts have already clocked up more home wins than they managed in their previous three top-flight seasons, even though they only managed to draw 1-1 with Nantes last time out.

A late equaliser from Augustine Boakye could prove crucial for the hosts at the end of the season though, with the battle set to remain tight up until its finale in May, with Horneland's side still only three points above the automatic relegation places too.

Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 form:

L

W

L

D

D

L

Saint-Etienne form (all competitions):

L

W

L

D

D

L

Rennes Ligue 1 form:

W

L

L

L

L

W

Rennes form (all competitions):

L

L

L

L

L

W

Team News

Saint-Etienne's midfield was left depleted at the end of the window, with promising Mathis Amougou leaving for Chelsea, while Thomas Monconduit and Mathieu Cafaro left on free transfers.

Irvin Cardona has arrived in the hope of adding more goals to the ASSE attack, but he only lasted 45 minutes on his second debut last weekend, while current top scorer Zuriko Davitashvili is also a doubt with injury.

Ibrahima Sissoko will serve the sixth game of his seven-match ban for violent conduct here, while defender Dylan Batubinsika is also suspended following a red card last weekend.

Numerous Rennes players could make their debuts for the club here, after Kyogo Furuhashi and Lilian Brassier started last week following recent moves.

Attackers Mousa Tamari and Kazeem Olaigbe, midfielder Ismael Kone and the versatile Anthony Rouault will all be raring to go after joining on deadline day, and the quartet could all start.

Hans Hateboer is suspended after amassing too many yellow cards, while recent acquisition Seko Fofana is a doubt with a thigh injury, potentially joining long-term absentee Alidu Seidu on the sidelines.

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:

Larsonneur; Appiah, Abdelhamid, Nade, Petrot; Bouchouari, Ekwah, Mouton; Cardona, Stassin, Boakye

Rennes possible starting lineup:

Samba; Rouault, Wooh, Brassier; Assignon, James, Kone, Truffert; Blas, Tamari, Kyogo

We say: Saint-Etienne 0-1 Rennes

After a win last weekend, adding more talent to the squad should provide results for a club who have taken a huge gamble in the transfer market, and Rennes will enter this fixture as slight favourites, despite their horrendous away form.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

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