Seeking to rise into the top three of the Ligue 1 table – for a few hours at least – Rennes travel to the Groupama Stadium to do battle with Lyon on Sunday afternoon.
Les Rouge et Noir lost 2-0 to Leicester City in the Europa Conference League in midweek, while their hosts prevailed against Porto in the second tier of continental competition.
The less said about their stark drop-off in league fortunes the better, but Lyon proved that they do indeed belong in Europe when they made the journey to the Estadio do Dragao to meet ex-Champions League competitors Porto on Thursday night.
Peter Bosz’s side claimed a 1-0 advantage at half time in their Europa League last-16 battle as Lucas Paqueta struck the game’s only goal in the 59th minute, with Porto losing Pepe to injury during the break and paying the price for it.
A spot in the last eight is now in Lyon’s hands ahead of Porto’s visit to France, and Les Gones were in blistering form during their last league outing against Lorient – crushing the relegation candidates 4-1 to end a two-game winless run in the division.
Lyon are by no means out of the race for Europe, as Bosz’s side are currently languishing in ninth position and are three points adrift of Strasbourg in the Europa Conference League spot, but Les Gones will want to dream bigger than that.
Going down the Europa League route may be Lyon’s best chance of returning to the continental table in 2022-23, and having lost just twice at home in the league all season – second only to Paris Saint-Germain in that regard – Rennes have their work cut out to extend their winning streak.
While Lyon were busy making progress in the Europa League, Rennes have seen their hopes of success in the Europa Conference League take a significant hit, with Leicester City gaining a 2-0 advantage in the first leg of their last-16 battle.
Marc Albrighton drew first blood for the Premier League side on the half-hour mark before turning provider for Kelechi Iheanacho to make sure of the result with seconds remaining, as Bruno Genesio’s side were given a harsh reality check amid an impressive domestic run.
There were shades of Mesut Ozil as Benjamin Bourigeaud’s effort hit the turf before looping into the net over Angers goalkeeper Danijel Petkovic last weekend, and Gaetan Laborde was also on target for Genesio’s men in that 2-0 win – their third on the bounce in Ligue 1.
With Marseille struggling for form, a point for Rennes against Lyon would be enough to see them temporarily leapfrog Les Olympiens into third place before Jorge Sampaoli’s side take on Brest, with Les Rouge et Noir’s staggering record of 53 goals scored propelling them right into Champions League contention.
On a more bitter and alarming note, six of Rennes’ last seven away games in all competitions have now ended in defeat following the first-leg loss to Leicester, but they served Lyon a slice of humble pie with a 4-1 thumping of Les Gones at Roazhon Park back in November.
Lyon Ligue 1 form:
WLWDLW
Lyon form (all competitions):
LWDLWW
Rennes Ligue 1 form:
LWLWWW
Rennes form (all competitions):
WLWWWL
We say: Lyon 2-2 Rennes
Fatigue and enforced alterations could impact both managers’ thinking this weekend, but the attacking talent on both sides is not up for debate, and an entertaining affair could be in store here.
Rennes’ abysmal away form has been a stark contrast to their free-scoring ways at Roazhon Park, but with Lyon still proving a touch inconsistent, Genesio’s side can return to their prolific domestic form and claim the point that will be enough to lift them into the podium spots.