Rennes already know their participation in the Champions League will come to an end this week as they sit bottom of Group E, 9pts behind 2nd placed Sevilla.
However, a win could be enough for the Ligue 1 side to claim 3rd spot and progress through to the Europa League, so the hosts have plenty left to play for on matchday six.
The home of Rennes has been very poor in recent weeks with the French side losing five of their last six matches in all competitions and failing to win a single game in November.
Rennes have now failed to score in four of their last six fixtures following the 2-0 home defeat to Lens at the weekend. Under 2.5 goals have now been produced in four of the home side’s last five outings in league and cup.
A solitary second-half strike from Luuk de Jong proved enough for Sevilla to claim a narrow 1-0 win over Rennes when the two sides met for the first time in Group E, back in October. Rennes are yet to win a game in the Champions League proper this season, securing their only point against Krasnodar.
Sevilla are already guaranteed a place in the knockout stage but will be looking to put in a good performance following that thrashing at the hands of Chelsea last time out.
Three of Sevilla’s last six matches have produced under 2.5 goals and on each of those occasions, the scoreline has ended 1-0.
The visitors have only scored 6-goals in Group E, that’s only one more than 3rd placed Krasnodar and 7-goals fewer than Chelsea. With that in mind, it’s unlikely that Sevilla will score more than 1-goal in France, especially as their host shave only conceded one more goal than the Spanish side in the Champions League this season.
Gomis, Guirassy, Aguerd, Martin and Rugani all look set to miss the final group game against Sevilla through injury. The visitors have a few injury concerns of their own, with Vaclik, Escudero and Acuna ruled out of the trip to France.
Sevilla might not have the same motivation for the 3pts as their hosts, but the Spaniards have shown their class in Group E and will be looking to end the group stage on a high.
This game doesn’t look likely to produce many goals and Sevilla might well only need one to claim all 3pts.