The early curtailment of last season’s Ligue 1 campaign couldn’t have come soon enough for Sunday’s hosts, Nimes, as they were occupying one league position above the relegation zone and just four points above second from bottom outfit, Amiens, when a line was drawn under the season prior to the lockdown.
Nimes were sinking fast and three defeats on the trot before the season was halted didn’t help either as the hosts suffered defeats to Sunday’s upcoming opponents, Rennes, (2-1 away) along with losses against Marseille and Metz.
It’s been a mixed start to this new Ligue 1 season as well for Nimes as the hosts started the new French domestic top flight in explosive fashion by recording a 4-0 thrashing over Brest on home turf at their Stade des Costières, only to be immediately pegged back with a 2-1 loss on the road at Nantes.
Results at home have been reasonable enough for Nimes who have won four of their last six matches, but they’ve lost their last two matches on the trot against Sunday’s visitors, Rennes, who did the ‘double’ over Nimes with 2-1 and 1-0 victories respectively last season.
Onto Rennes then, and the visitors were undoubtedly the surprise package in last season’s Ligue 1 season as they claimed what seemed a highly unlikely 3rd place finish at the end of the campaign which has earned them a place in the Champions League group stage due to being in 3rd place when the domestic season halted.
In contrast to Nimes’s poor finish to the end of last season, Rennes were building up a head of steam as the visitors had picked up three wins on the trot.
These victories were against Nimes 2-1 at home, a 2-0 win on the road at Toulouse and a crushing 5-0 win against Montpellier at home.
Results away from home were steady if not inspiring as Rennes lost just two of their final seven matches away from home which were losses at Lille and Reims but wins on their travels at Metz, Lyon, Nimes and Toulouse underline the threat that the visitors can pose on the road in the French top flight.
[PROS]🤝 Présentation @Guirassy_19 ✅---#AllezRennes#ToutDonner 💪🔴⚫ pic.twitter.com/pQiEFZ2bOr— Stade Rennais F.C. (@staderennais) September 9, 2020
[PROS]🤝 Présentation @Guirassy_19 ✅---#AllezRennes#ToutDonner 💪🔴⚫ pic.twitter.com/pQiEFZ2bOr
Rennes also kept four clean sheets in these last seven away matches and their solid defence conceded the least number of goals away from home in Ligue 1 last term, so the visitors look a decent bet here.