Two teams towards the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings come together on Friday evening when Rennes host Le Havre at Roazhon Park for matchday nine of the 2024-25 season.
The hosts are in 13th with eight points from eight, while the visitors are in 16th with just six points from their opening eight fixtures.
Match preview
After a six-year run of European qualification between the 2017-18 and 2022-23 seasons, five of which came with top-six finishes and one from winning the Coupe de France in 2018-19 despite finishing 10th, Rennes' streak was disappointingly broken last season.
The Rennais dropped from consecutive fourth-placed finishes to 10th in the table in the 2023-24 season, ending with just 46 points, 22 fewer than their 68-point tally from the previous term.
Julien Stephan was appointed to replace former manager Bruno Genesio in November 2023 after a poor start to the campaign, but the new boss has yet to guide Rennes back to the high standards they had achieved in previous seasons.
Eight games into the 2024-25 campaign and the same problems persist, with Rennes sitting 13th in the standings with just eight points from their first eight matches, with two wins, two draws and four losses.
Stephan's position at the club has been called into question as a result, with rumours circulating that he could have been sacked during the international break, and those rumours have continued following their late draw against Brest after yet another underwhelming performance.
With the pressure quickly building on Stephan, the Frenchman, who previously managed the side between December 2018 and March 2021, will be desperate to secure a first victory in four games when they host Le Havre on Friday.
Le Havre booked their return to the top flight for the first time since 2008-09 when they won the Ligue 2 title in 2022-23, and the Dean Club managed to narrowly secure their survival as they placed 15th with 32 points, three above the drop zone.
Aiming to simply extend their stay in Ligue 1 for a third year this term, Le Havre have endured a difficult opening to the campaign, sitting 16th in the standings with six points from eight outings.
Didier Digard, appointed ahead of the 2024-25 season, enjoyed a superb opening to the campaign, with Le Havre winning two of their first three games, against Saint-Etienne and Auxerre, however, they have since failed to build on that momentum, losing all of their next five matches.
Le Havre have notably failed to score in four of their last five matches, while their defence has been extremely vulnerable, conceding a total of 14 goals while scoring just once, issues that Digard will need to address if the team hopes to escape the relegation zone in the upcoming games.
Team News
The hosts could be without up to four players for this game, as Henrik Meister, Leo Ostigard, Dogan Alemdar, and Albert Gronbaek are all dealing with injuries.
They will be boosted by the return of Lorenz Assignon, who sat out the draw with Brest last time out due to an accumulation of yellow cards throughout the season.
Jota came off the bench to score a crucial equaliser for Rennes, his first goal for the club, and he could be rewarded with a first start in this one.
As for the visitors, Andy Logbo, Arouna Sangante, Oualid El Hajjam and Yann Kitala are all expected to miss out due to injuries.
Etienne Youte Kinkoue could come back into the starting team having served his suspension for receiving a red card against Brest in Le Havre's heavy defeat to Lyon last time out.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Faye, Wooh, Seidu; Hateboer, Santamaria, Matusiwa, Truffert; Gouiri, Jota; Kalimuendo
Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Desmas; Nego, Salmier, Kinkoue, Lloris, Operi; Kechta, Ndiaye, Toure, Kuzyaev; Casimir
We say: Rennes 2-0 Le Havre
While both teams are struggling heading into this match, Le Havre have been weak in both defence and attack during recent games, contributing to their five-game losing streak, which we believe will continue with a victory here for Rennes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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