Preview:Angers vs Rennes - prediction, team news, lineups

Angers can equal their longest winning run at home in Ligue 1 from last season with a victory over Rennes on Sunday at Stade Raymond Kopa.

Both sides are tied with three points after two matchdays, with Angers losing 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in their last outing and Stade Rennais dropping a 4-0 decision to Lorient.

Match preview

After two league fixtures, Les Scoistes already boast a victory in this competition, something which took them until matchday nine to achieve a season ago.

Alexandre Dujeux has relied on their defensive game to get by, with Angers having fewer than 40% of the ball in their first two contests and a combined two efforts on target, both coming in their home triumph over Paris FC (1-0).

Fortunately, they have been relatively strong at the back so far, particularly in their tackles, averaging a league-high 17.5 successful challenges per match.

Three of their last four home contests in this competition ended in a victory for the club from Pays de la Loire, who conceded just once in those three wins.

Another triumph on Sunday would give them three straight in Ligue 1 at Stade Raymond Kopa for the first time since August-September 2019 (four).

In 2024-25, this team had a 100% record at home when netting the opening goal domestically, while collecting just two points after conceding first.

A lack of early discipline put Rennes behind the eight-ball last Sunday, but this time there was no miracle last-gasp winner like we saw in their season-opening triumph over Marseille (1-0).

Instead, Habib Beye’s team fell apart when two players were sent off after 10 minutes and four seconds of action, the fastest any Ligue 1 side had ever been reduced to nine men since Opta began collecting that data.

They enter this encounter having lost four consecutive away matches in the French top flight, conceding four goals in three of those defeats.

Last season, this team squandered six points as the visitors when scoring first and only collected one point away from home after conceding the opener.

Stade Rennais have picked up just one clean sheet from their previous seven top-flight affairs away from home, defeating Le Havre 5-1 back in April.

Five of their eight visits to Stade Raymond Kopa this century have ended in a victory for Les Rennais, including a 3-0 win in this exact fixture last season.

Angers Ligue 1 form:

Rennes Ligue 1 form:

Team News

In their defeat to PSG, Angers were missing Yassin Belkhdim and Louis Mouton, though both players will be eligible to return from suspension on Sunday.

Remy Labeau will be seeking to make his first appearance with Les Scoistes after the Guadeloupean-born striker was loaned to them from Lens earlier this week.

Last week, Ayanda Sishuba sat out with an unknown problem for Rennes, Lilian Brassier had an ankle injury, while the club reached an agreement with Angers for Esteban Lepaul.

Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Mahdi Camara and Christopher Wooh will all be unavailable, with the three Stade Rennais players all previously receiving red cards.

Angers possible starting lineup:

Koffi; Arcus, Camara, Lefort; Raolisoa, Capelle, Courcoul, Belkebla, Allevinah; Labeau, Cherif

Rennes possible starting lineup:

Samba; Seidu, Jacquet, Rouault; Frankowski, Rieder, Rongier, Fofana, Merlin; Blas, Meite

We say: Angers 0-2 Rennes

While Les Rennais have been vulnerable defensively, they will be facing a side struggling to create much when in possession, and we expect the visitors to capitalise against Angers, who spend too much time on the back foot.

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