Rennes vs Fenerbahce Match Analysis and Prediction

4 years ago 889

Two teams looking to continue their fine starts to the UEFA Europa League group stage will go head to head at Roazhon Park on Thursday, as Rennes play host to Fenerbahce.

While the hosts saw off the threat of AEK Larnaca through a last-minute winner, Fenerbahce did exactly the same against Dynamo Kyiv.

After finishing fourth in Ligue 1 last season, only three points short of qualifying for the Champions League for just the second time in their history, Rennes will feel confident of making a mark in the Europa League this time around.

Rennes looked back to their best one Sunday -after a fairly slow start in Ligue 1 this season – as they beat Auxerre 5-0 at Roazhon Park, with five different goalscorers on the scoresheet including summer signing Amine Gouiri for the first time since his switch from Nice.

Meanwhile, Fenerbahce recorded a dramatic injury-time winner themselves last week, with summer signing Michy Batshuayi securing all three points for his team on his debut.

Gustavo Henrique had provided them with a first-half lead before Viktor Tsyhankov levelled the game after the hour mark, but Fenerbahce’s pressure finally paid off through the former Chelsea striker’s late finish.

Jorge Jesus, who has two Europa League runners-up medals to his name from his time at Benfica, will be targeting this tournament as one which his side can progress far.

The Yellow Canaries have not made any real impact in Europe since reaching the semi-finals in 2012-13.

Having not played a league match at the weekend, Jesus will hope his side’s freshness can lead to a second successive victory in the tournament when they take on Rennes on Thursday, which would put them in an incredibly strong position to progress from Group B and reach the knockout rounds of the Europa League.

Rennes vs Fenerbahce head to head

These two teams have not previously met on any occasion and this will be their first meeting in the Europa League group stages.

Rennes latest home form

Rennes have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, as they have won each of their three most recent matches. They managed to defeat Auxerre 5-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded five.

Rennes 1-2 Aston Villa 30/07/22

Rennes 0-1 Lorient 07/08/22

Rennes 2-1 Ajaccio 21/08/22

Rennes 3-1 Brest 31/08/22

Rennes 5-0 Auxerre 11/09/22

Rennes latest away form

Rennes have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They defeated AEK Larnaca 2-1 in their last away game in the Europa League. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded five.

Nantes 0-1 Rennes 27/07/22

Monaco 1-1 Rennes 13/08/22

Lens 2-1 Rennes 27/08/22

Troyes 1-1 Rennes 04/09/22

AEK Larnaca 1-2 Rennes 08/09/22

Fenerbahce latest home form

Fenerbahce have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their six most recent matches. They defeated Dinamo Kiev 2-1 in their last home game in the Europa League. In their last five matches, they have scored 15 goals and conceded seven.

Fenerbahce 3-3 Umraniyespor 08/08/22

Fenerbahce 4-2 Adana Demirspor 22/08/22

Fenerbahce 4-1 Austria Vienna 25/08/22

Fenerbahce 2-0 Kayserispor 03/09/22

Fenerbahce 2-1 Dinamo Kiev 08/09/22

Fenerbahce latest away form

Fenerbahce were beaten 1-0 by Konyaspor in their last away game in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, as they have been unbeaten in their previous nine matches. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded two.

Dinamo Kiev 0-0 Fenerbahce 20/07/22

Slovacko 1-1 Fenerbahce 11/08/22

Kasimpasa 0-6 Fenerbahce 15/08/22

Austria Vienna 0-2 Fenerbahce 18/08/22

Konyaspor 1-0 Fenerbahce 29/08/22

Rennes news

Rennes will be without Warmed Omari, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Jeremy Doku due to injuries, while midfielder Baptiste Santamaria is set to sit out for at least a few weeks.

Lesley Ugochukwu could come in for the injured Santamaria, while Martin Terrier and Gouiri may drop back down to the bench.

Fenerbahce news

Fenerbahce can more readily pick their strongest XI having had the weekend off, but Nazim Sangare remains a long-term absentee with a cruciate ligament injury.

Diego Rossi could drop out of the side for this contest, with Irfan Kahveci the most likely candidate to replace him in the engine room.

Prediction and Odds

Having had the weekend to rest, Fenerbahce should be the fresher side of the two, particularly as the game heads into the latter stages.

Meanwhile, much will depend on the starting XI which Genesio picks, as there is little doubt Rennes have more firepower if their strongest team is on the pitch.

Odds: 1 2.22 X 2.03 2 2.28