Lyon’s recent revival came to a screeching halt as they were beaten 3-1 by Le Havre in their opening Ligue 1 match of 2024. The defeat came in the midst of two wins in the Coupe de France, which should give the Lyonnais confidence, but they were both against lower-division opposition.
Now, Lyon will be focused on their main goal of escaping the relegation zone. They are currently in 16th place, level on points with 15th-placed Metz. Lyon had only one win before their recent three-game winning streak in Ligue 1, a 1-0 victory over Rennes in the 12th round. With that in mind, Lyon could record their first league double over Rennes since the 2014/15 season.
Rennes will be in a confident mood, however, given their current form. The club have won four games in a row following their Coupe de France victory over Marseille. Two straight league wins have moved them up to 10th place in Ligue 1, and if Julien Stéphan’s side can continue to pick up points, they could quickly re-enter the race for European qualification.
One aspect that could derail those ambitions is their away form, which has yielded a meagre seven points out of a possible 22 in Ligue 1 this season. That is largely due to the five goals they have scored away from home, the lowest total in the league. Despite their poor away form, the Rouges et Noirs are the team that have had the most games with both teams scoring this season in Ligue 1 (11). This match could go that way, as each side has scored in each of the last five meetings.
Key battle: Both teams will be relying on their respective strikers to lead them to victory. Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) and Martin Terrier (Rennes) have both scored three goals in their last three appearances in this fixture.
Hot stat: There have been goals in both halves in 12 of Rennes’ last 15 matches.
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