Ligue 1 returns to the fold for game week 26 this Friday when Montpellier welcomes Rennes at Stade de la Mosson. Match kickoffs at 23:00 EAT.
The hosts Montpellier is in the top half of the table however have been inconsistent with their performance lately in the league; currently they are in the ninth spot in the standings with 37 points. Coming into this game, they have three wins and two loses from their last five fixtures in all competitions. Both teams scored in just one of those five meetings.
La Paillade head into this game after returned to the winning ways last time out with a 0-1 Ligue 1 victory against FC Lorient. In that game, Montpellier had 52% possession, six shots with five of them on target and a goal scored by Téji Savanier (56′). FC Lorient got 16 shots with three of them on target.
On the other hand Rennes has been on and off for the last couple of weeks. In their last five matches they have two wins and three loses perfectly alternating. Currently they are three points above their opponents here in the 5th spot. Bruno Genesio’s side has generally been playing much better at home than on the road throughout the season.
Les Rennais get into this fixture in high spirits coming off 4-1 Ligue 1 triumph versus Troyes in their last match. In that game, Rennes had 63% possession, 17 shots with eight of them on target and goals scored by Serhou Guirassy (14′, 20′), Martin Terrier (75′) and Gaëtan Laborde (87′). Troyes got four shots with only one of them on target and a goal by Ike Ugbo (39′).
Montpellier vs Rennes head to head
These two teams have had 46 meetings against each other since 1994. Rennes has a slight upper hand claiming 20 victories while Montpellier has 14 victories and there have been 12 draws.
- Rennes 2-0 Montpellier 20/11/21
- Montpellier 2-1 Rennes 21/02/21
- Rennes 2-1 Montpellier 29/08/20
- Rennes 5-0 Montpellier 08/03/20
- Montpellier 0-1 Rennes 10/08/19
Home
- Lorient 0-1 Montpellier
- Montpellier 0-1 Lille
- Saint-Etienne 3-1 Montpellier
- Marseille 5-4 Montpellier
- Montpellier 3-2 Monaco
Away
- Rennes 4-1 Troyes
- PSG 1-0 Rennes
- Rennes 2-0 Brest
- Clermont Foot 2-1 Rennes
- Rennes 6-0 Bordeaux
Montpellier team news
Coach Olivier Dall’Oglio has a sole fitness concern in his side; Pedro Mendes (Muscular problems) won’t play.
Rennes team news
On Bruno Génésio’s side, Jeremy Doku, Romain Salin and Jeremy Gelin are all injured and are not expected to play on Friday while Flavien Tait and Lesley Ugochukwu are both doubts for the game.
Prediction and odds
These two teams have had relatively similar form and we are therefore backing a stalemate. Montpellier did claim seven wins in 13 home fixtures this season while Rennes have been showing much better form in the last couple of weeks.
- Draw
- Goals under 2.5
- Both teams to score
