Romanian outfit Cluj and French team Rennes are in contrasting positions in Group E of the Europa League. The pair meet on Thursday evening at the Stadionul Dr Constantin Radulescu, with Rennes facing the possibility of exiting the competition if they suffer defeat.
The home side are well-positioned to make it through to the last 32 of the competition, though. They have picked up six points from a position nine, beating Lazio and recording a victory over Rennes in the reverse fixture, but suffering a 2-0 defeat at group leaders Celtic.
The two wins mean that Dan Petrescu’s team are second in the group, three points clear of third-place Lazio and five clear of bottom of the group visitors.
The home side’s recent record in the Europa League is actually slightly inconsistent, as they have lost three of their last five matches in the competition.
Cluj have also won just two of their last eight matches on home soil in European football’s secondary competition. A win here could be a pivotal one in the race for qualification for the last 32.
Rennes heads into this game on the back of terrible form. The French side has won just once in their last 11 games in all competitions. A minor positive for Julien Stephan’s team is that they ended a ten-game winless run last time out with a 3-2 home win over Toulouse.
The visitor’s performance in Europe this season should not be surprising, as they have been inconsistent of late in the Europa League. They have failed to win in four matches, suffering three defeats in the process.
Their away form has not helped their European results either, as they have won just two of their last nine matches on their travels in the Europa League.
Forebet predicts that Cluj will record their third victory of the group campaign to eliminate the visitors from this season’s competition.