France - Ligue 1: Rennes vs Valenciennes Rennes returned to winning ways in style after beating Montpellier 3:0 and Les Bretons are now back where they belong. Valenciennes are enjoying a great season and they are currently tied on points with Rennes but we are not convinced they have enough quality to remain in the top part of the table.
Rennes hammered Montpellier
Rennes are slowly recovering after some unexpected slip ups at the start of the season and we definitely see them as a top 5 side. Les Bretons proved their quality with a comprehensive win over surprise package Montpellier, although the win came at a price. Veteran playmaker Jerome Leroy and enthusiastic winger Moussa Sow picked up injuries that will sideline them at least for the next month. That will obviously be a problem but the good thing is Frederic Antonetti has very good replacements and the performances shouldn’t suffer too much. This is why we expect the hosts to continue with convincing performances and you should be aware of the odds of 1.85 offered by Sportingbet on Rennes to score over 1.5 goals.
Rennes are the team that boast the best defensive record in Ligue 1 despite the fact boss Antonetti couldn’t always count on his starting defenders through injuries and suspensions. Nevertheless, Les Bretons conceded just six goals this season and the trend looks likely to continue since all starting defenders are fit to play. Fanni, Hansson, Mangane and Bocanegra form a real wall in front of keeper Douchez and our advice is to back Rennes to keep a clean sheet at 2.10 offered by William Hill.
Valenciennes playing above expectations
Boss Philippe Montanier has done a great job since he arrived at the club to replace Antoine Kombouare as his side that was expected to fight for survival are currently sitting in 9th place with 16 points from 10 games. The team are playing well both home and away, although we don’t think they have the quality to keep their performances at such a high level. Valenciennes are playing attacking football, even away from home and while they are scoring a lot of goals, their defence is often left unguarded. Therefore, you should consider betting on over 2.5 goals at 2.25 offered by Stan James.
We don’t usually see a lot of goals when these two teams play each other and it is interesting that 3 of the last 4 games between the sides ended in goalless draws. Seeing that Rennes boast the best defence in the league and that they tend to adopt a very cautious style, odds of 8.50 offered by Paddy Power on 0:0 are definitely worth a shot.
Betting verdict
Rennes are slowly rediscovering their form and that match against Montpellier is the perfect proof. Valenciennes have been recording great results but they were also very lucky in some of the games and we don’t think they deserve such a high league position. We see Rennes as much better team here and expect them to take all three points.
Looking for livestream! Here it is! Our tip: Bet 7 on Home win
Odds -149 at
Bookmaker: BetCRIS
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