Another chapter in the Breton derby will take place this weekend as Rennes host Brest on matchday 18 of the Ligue 1 campaign on Saturday at Roazhon Park.
Les Rennais are 14th in the table following a 2-1 defeat at home to Marseille, putting them five points below Stade Brestois, with the latter defeating Lyon 2-1 last week.
Match preview
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Yet another match there for taking went against Rennes last weekend, with this team losing for the sixth time domestically this season by a single goal.
That defeat to Marseille was the second time in the competition this season that they lost despite scoring first, and those six points dropped could have them in the top half of the table.
Jorge Sampaoli's men followed up that loss with another one in midweek at the Coupe de France, exiting that competition on Wednesday with a 1-0 defeat versus Ligue 2 outfit Troyes.
Rennes have won two of their previous three top-flight affairs at Roazhon Park, but on Saturday, they are in danger of suffering consecutive defeats there for the first time in 2024-25.
Their 10 losses in 17 Ligue 1 encounters so far are the most this club have incurred at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1986-87 (10).
They are winless in their previous five meetings against Stade Brestois, but they have won this exact fixture two out of the last three times.
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The new year did not begin as well as Eric Roy would have hoped, but his side have turned it around quickly, following up a 2-0 defeat against Angers with consecutive triumphs across all competitions.
If they are to climb back into the hunt for a spot Europe this team will need to improve their away form, currently on a four-match losing run in Ligue 1 as the visitors.
Defensively, Les Pirates have struggled away from home this season, with 20 of their 30 goals conceded occurring outside Stade Francis-Le Ble.
All of their victories in the competition this season have come when they have drawn first blood, losing just once over this campaign when doing so (3-1 versus Paris Saint-Germain).
While Stade Brestois are not anywhere near the top of the table, they have won seven of their first 17 domestic encounters, only winning more once before at this stage (nine a season ago).
Brest have earned at least a point in three consecutive meetings with Rennes, winning their previous visit to Roazhon Park in dramatic fashion, 5-4, thanks to a goal in the 96th minute.
Team News
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A cruciate ligament injury will keep Alidu Seidu and Dogan Alemdar on the Stade Rennais sidelines for a considerable amount of time.
At Marseille last weekend, Brice Samba made his first start between the sticks since signing from Lens, while the club loaned Henrik Meister to Serie B side Pisa earlier in the week.
Arnaud Kalimuendo had their only goal against OM, his team-leading eighth of the 2024-25 domestic campaign, twice as many as Ludovic Blas.
Several Brest players are questionable for this one, including Bradley Locko, who has a lower leg issue, while Massadio Haidara and Jonas Martin are dealing with muscle tightness.
Against Lyon, they were without Pierre Lees-Melou due to a calf strain, Julien Le Cardinal was sidelined with a sore hamstring and Jordan Amavi sat out because of a thigh injury.
Mahdi Camara and Ludovic Ajorque scored first-half goals for them last weekend, the third and fifth respectively for those two this season.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Samba; Hateboer, Ostigard, Wooh; Assignon, Santamaria, Matusiwa, Truffert; Blas, Gouiri; Kalimuendo
Brest possible starting lineup:
Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Ndiaye; Camara, Fernandes, Magnetti, Doumbia; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Balde
We say: Rennes 2-2 Brest
Despite the demands of the Champions League and the Coupe de France, Brest have dug deep and found ways to claim points, while Rennes have struggled to find much consistency.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
