As we surpass the halfway point of the Ligue 1 campaign, Lorient can close the gap between themselves and a place in Europe when hosting Rennes on Friday at Stade du Moutsoir.
Lorient are seventh in the table following a 3-1 domestic defeat at Marseille, putting them five points behind les Rennais, who upset Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in their previous league fixture.
Match preview
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Since climbing back into the French top flight two seasons ago, it has been a real struggle for Les Merlus to remain in Ligue 1 until the 2022-23 campaign.
With 32 points after 19 domestic games, it is the highest tally ever for this club at this stage of a campaign, putting them in contention to potentially compete in Europe for only the second time in their history.
Although they, along with Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, have the longest winning run in Ligue 1 this season (six), Le FCL are winless in five successive home fixtures in this competition.
Not counting the friendlies played during the World Cup break, Regis Le Bris has seen his side win only three of their previous 10 encounters in all competitions, advancing into the last 16 of the Coupe de France on penalties versus Bastia.
Les Merlus have only suffered one defeat in this competition when scoring multiple goals in a single game, though they have conceded in every league fixture since drawing Reims 0-0 in mid-October.
Their recent form versus Rennes is not outstanding, winning only two of their previous 12 fixtures against them in the top flight, but Lorient got the better of them at the beginning of this campaign, winning 1-0 at Roazhon Park.
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Over the past few seasons, consistency has usually been a strong attribute with Les Rennais. However, since the season resumed in late December, we have not seen as much of that from one match to another.
Bruno Genesio's men exited from the Coupe de France last weekend, dropping a 1-0 decision to Marseille, and they have not won consecutive matches in the league since capturing back-to-back triumphs to wrap up the month of October.
They have not won an away game in any competition since defeating Angers 2-1 thanks to an injury-time penalty in October and are currently fifth in the standings, five points back of a potential Champions League spot.
While Stade Rennais lost their previous encounter versus Lorient, they have not suffered consecutive defeats against them since the 2010-11 top-flight campaign.
At the moment, Rennes have picked up 37 points domestically, their best return at this stage of a Ligue 1 season, while also scoring 36 goals, the most for this club after 19 matches since 1965-66 (39).
Scoring goals has rarely been a problem for Rennes in this competition, but preventing them has been an issue, particularly away from home.
Les Rouge et Noir have conceded at least once in 20 consecutive Ligue 1 road fixtures (32 goals), five short of their previous longest streak between January 1969 and May 1970.
Team News
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Ibrahima Kone had the only Lorient goal in normal time at the Coupe de France this weekend, while Theo Le Bris, Montassar Talbi, Sirine Doucoure and Laurent Abergel each converted their spot kicks.
Vito Mannone, meanwhile, stopped one Bastia effort and watched another sail over the bar as Les Merlus won 4-1 on penalties.
Terem Moffi has found the back of the net in his last two league fixtures for Le FCL as he and Dango Ouattara, who transferred to Bournemouth this month, both scored when they drew Monaco in their previous domestic home game.
An own goal from Arthur Theate in their opening Ligue 1 match versus Rennes this season was all they would need to claim victory as Yvon Mvogo collected a clean sheet.
Julien Laporte is out until early February because of a hamstring injury, while Mannone, Talbi, Abergel and Yoann Cathline were the only players that began the match against Marseille to maintain their places in the starting 11 last Saturday.
Hamari Traore had the only goal in a victory over PSG, as Rennes goalkeeper Steve Mandanda only had to make one stop for the clean sheet, while Warmed Omari and Benjamin Bourigeaud both missed that encounter through suspension.
In this exact fixture last season, goals from former striker Gaetan Laborde, along with current forward Jeremy Doku, helped Les Rennais win 2-0 as Alfred Gomis picked up a shutout.
Martin Terrier will not be back this season, having torn his ACL, Xeka remains out with a sprained ankle, and Dogan Alemdar was in goal in their Coupe de France match last Friday rather than Mandanda, the former Marseille number one.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Manonne; Le Goff, Talbi, Matsima, Kalulu; Le Fee; Innocent; Cathline, Ponceau, Aouchiche; Moffi
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Wooh, Rodon, Theate; Traore, Majer, Ugochukwu, Truffert; Doku, Kalimuendo, Gouiri
We say: Lorient 1-2 Rennes
Lorient have won just one of their previous four home fixtures versus Rennes, and although not having Terrier hurts, we still think the experience and depth of the visitors will outclass Les Merlus, who depend heavily on Moffi to find the back of the net.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
