France - Ligue 1: Lyon vs Rennes Lyon are sitting one point adrift of leaders Auxerre and they are now looking to end the four-match winless run in all competitions. Rennes have only just returned to the top part of the table and they will try to avoid another fall down the standings by taking at least a point from Gerland.
Lyon going through a rough patch
Lyon are winless after beating St Etienne in the local derby and Claude Puel’s side have got to try and return to winning ways. After failing to beat 10-man Grenoble, Les Gones have lost to Fiorentina in the Champions League and if they don’t beat Rennes, the alarm bells will be on. The team have been pretty inconsistent lately and that is the problem but they need to try and rediscover their form against rock-solid Rennes. Seeing that Les Gones failed to score more than one goal in four of the last five games and that they will be pitted against one of the best defences in the league, we see a good value in backing Lyon to score under 1.5 goals at 2.05 offered by Sportingbet.
Claude Puel has some selection problems but he also has big enough squad to deal with them. The good news is that Antoine Reveillere and Mathieu Bodmer have resumed training on Thursday and will be in contention for this match, but Francois Clerc, Maxime Gonalons, Bafetimbi Gomis and Jeremy Toulalan remain sidelined. The boss is likely to make some changes to the team that started the match against Fiorentina, with Delgado, Ederson and Lopez likely to start.
Rennes back in business
Rennes are the team that have the potential for the top 5 finish but things haven’t really gone as planned so far. Les Bretons have made quite a few unexpected slip ups but the important thing is they are still just five points adrift of European places and nothing is lost just yet. The win over Le Mans boosted team’s morale before this very important clash and now Rennes will try to avoid defeat at Gerland. Frederic Antonetti is set to adopt defensive approach with his players not risking too much and seeing they failed to score in two of the last three away games, our advice is to back Rennes not to score at 1.80 offered by Paddy Power.
Excellent striker Jimmy Briand has finally resumed full training after recovering from a difficult knee injury but he is still not ready for the first team action and won’t be in contention for this match. Experienced playmaker Jerome Leroy is also closing in on a return from injury but he is still a couple of weeks back from making a return. To add insult to injury, Kader Mangane has picked up an injury in the Le Mans game and he will be replaced by Carlos Bocanegra.
Betting verdict
Lyon are misfiring at the moment and they will have problems breaking Rennes’ packed defence, thus we don’t expect to see too many goals. The visitors are a good team and we believe they have been underestimated by bookies but under 2.5 goals still looks like the better choice than backing Rennes with +1 Asian handicap.
Looking for livestream! Here it is! Our tip: Bet 6 on Under 2.5 goals
Odds -139 at
Bookmaker: BetCRIS
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