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

Aiming to extend their sharp start in this season's Europa League, Italian giants Juventus will host free-scoring Rennes on Thursday evening.

In contrast to dire domestic form, Juve currently have a perfect record in Europe; their French counterparts are also unbeaten, after posting a first league-phase win last week.

Match preview

Having kicked off with a 5-0 cruise at home to NEC, on matchday two Juventus had to work much harder for a very rare victory in Spain.

Misfiring strikers Nick Woltemade and Randal Kolo Muani both scored at Estadio Balaidos, as Juve beat Celta Vigo 2-1 and moved top of the Europa League table.

Sitting pretty on maximum points, they are already well on their way towards the knockout rounds, with a first European trophy this century being the ultimate prize.

Juve may have made an exemplary start in UEFA's second-tier competition, but they have been less impressive on the domestic scene, winning only one of their last five league games.

Woltemade and Kolo Muani both missed a golden chance as Luciano Spalletti's side lost 3-0 to Lazio on Sunday night, leaving them eighth in Serie A.

Already eight points behind pace-setters Inter Milan, the Turin club have made a worse start than at this stage last year, just before Igor Tudor was sacked and replaced by Spalletti.

Now, Juventus must meet Stade Rennais for the first time since 1999, when they won a two-legged Intertoto Cup final - notably, Antonio Conte was among the Bianconeri's scorers.

With Conte currently available, his spectre looms over Spalletti's shoulder ahead of a potentially tricky midweek fixture.

While Rennes have lost on all four of their visits to Italy - against Juve, Udinese, Lazio and AC Milan - they will head to Turin hoping to halt that streak.

The Breton club have made an unbeaten start to their Europa League campaign, following a 0-0 draw with Sturm Graz by beating OFI Crete last week, thanks to a late winner from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal.

Their continental success has been built on a strong defence: Rennes rank first of all 36 teams for expected goals against (0.79) and fewest shots faced (13).

That contrasts starkly to their domestic output, as Franck Haise's side are top scorers in Ligue 1 with 15 goals but have also conceded 14.

Les Rouges et Noir shipped four in Sunday's frenetic seven-goal clash with Paris FC, which they eventually ended up losing 4-3.

Esteban Lepaul netted a hat-trick of penalties, yet that was not quite enough: captain Valentin Rongier conceded a spot-kick deep into stoppage time and Paris duly converted it.

Rennes slipped down to sixth spot as a result, but they lie just a point behind the five clubs above.

Juventus Europa League form:

Juventus form (all competitions):

Rennes Europa League form:

Rennes form (all competitions):

Team News

Once again, Spalletti is set to rotate his injury-hit squad amid a frantic run of fixtures.

Francisco Conceicao dislocated a shoulder on Sunday night, so the Portuguese winger joins Juve's absence list: Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, Jeff Ekhator, Kamil Grabara and captain Manuel Locatelli were already unavailable.

In contrast to his Serie A struggles, Woltemade has scored in both Europa League games so far; only two men have scored in their first three European appearances for the Bianconeri - Roberto Baggio in 1990 and Darko Kovacevic in 1999.

So, the Germany forward could either replace or partner Kolo Muani up front, as Spalletti has no other fit strikers.

Meanwhile, Rennes could be without new France cap Lepaul, who sustained an ankle injury at the weekend; Ligue 1's top scorer may be replaced by Lazio loanee Boulaye Dia.

After initially being rested against Paris, Valentin Rongier will captain the away side from midfield.

Haise has frequently rotated his full-backs, so Mahamadou Nagida must vie with Quentin Merlin, while Bryan Reynolds hopes to be picked ahead of Przemyslaw Frankowski.

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly; Celik, Luiz, Sarr, Cambiaso; McKennie, Alajbegovic; Woltemade

Rennes possible starting lineup:

Samba; Reynolds, Cresswell, Ait Boudlal, Nagida; Szymanski, Rongier, Camara; Blas, Dia, Soumare

We say: Juventus 2-1 Rennes

They have made little progress in Serie A since Spalletti arrived at this time last year, but Juventus have won all of their last four European home matches - scoring 12 goals and conceding just two.

So, with the pressure slightly eased after making such a fine start to the league phase, Juve can beat hit-and-miss Rennes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.