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

Olympique Lyonnais welcome Stade Rennais to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday evening for round five of the 2026-27 Ligue 1 campaign.

In their latest league outing, Les Gones were held to a goalless draw by Paris FC at the Stade Jean Bouin, while Les Rouge et Noir claimed an impressive 1-0 victory at home to Olympique Marseille.

Match preview

After booking their place in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds for the first time in five years last season, pipping Olympique Marseille to fourth place by just one point, it looks as though Lyon will be fighting to earn their spot in Europe’s elite competition once again in May following a respectable start to the campaign.

Although their 3-2 aggregate defeat against Fenerbahce in the decisive tie meant that they failed to qualify for the main Champions League tournament, Les Gones got their Europa League campaign up and running with an impressive win on Wednesday night, beating Anderlecht 2-1 at the Lotto Park.

Having also claimed seven points from their opening three Ligue 1 matches, including convincing victories over both Toulouse and AJ Auxerre, Paulo Fonseca’s men knew that a win in the capital on Sunday evening would see them leapfrog AS Monaco to the summit of the league table too.

However, their goalless draw with Liam Rosenior’s side means that although Lyon remain one of only five sides to have not suffered defeat so far this season, they only sit fifth in the division and with fixtures against both RC Lens and Paris Saint-Germain approaching shortly after the international break, Les Gones will be eager to boost their points tally this weekend.

The hosts should be confident of doing so though, having won at home against Rennes in each of the previous two seasons and claiming a 4-2 victory over Saturday’s opposition at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in May which was vital in Fonseca’s men pipping Les Rouge et Noir to a top four finish.

Following a disappointing 12th place finish in the 2024-25 Ligue 1 campaign, the side’s lowest result for over a decade, Rennes were much improved last season, sitting sixth at the end of proceedings and sealing a return to European competition for the first time in three years.

Although just four league matches have been played, Franck Haise’s men will be eyeing up improvement this season too, with Les Rouge et Noir only failing to beat Paris Saint-Germain so far and sat third in the league table with 10 points, a tally that can only be matched by AS Monaco and LOSC Lille.

Despite being held to a stalemate in Austria on Wednesday, Rennes were unlucky not to prevail in their opening Europa League fixture too, tallying 23 shots and creating 1.99 xG against a resilient Sturm Graz side at the Merkur-Arena, meaning the visitors remain unbeaten this season.

Facing several difficult fixtures both domestically and on the continent within the next few weeks, including the likes of Paris FC, Juventus and table toppers Lille, Les Rouge et Noir will be looking to maintain their red hot form in order to continue battling on all fronts heading into the winter period.

However, although they have impressed in attack, netting eight goals in their four league matches, Haise’s men will undoubtedly have to improve upon their defensive stability if they are to continue competing, especially ahead of this weekend’s clash with Lyon, who they have conceded 19 times against in the previous nine games between the sides.

Lyon Ligue 1 form:

Lyon form (all competitions):

Rennes Ligue 1 form:

Rennes form (all competitions):

Team News

After missing the prior four fixtures with muscular fatigue, Lyon winger Julien Duranville returned to the matchday squad in the week, but was an unused substitute against Anderlecht.

Having missed Les Gones' midweek European clash with an unspecified injury, it looks unlikely that 26-year-old left-back Abner Vinicius will feature on Saturday, meaning experienced Argentinian Nicolas Tagliafico should start.

Netting what turned out to be the decisive goal on his full debut on Wednesday night, it would be no surprise to see Japanese winger Keito Nakamura rewarded with a start this weekend.

Following a shaky start to the season, Rennes defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal has found himself sat on the bench in the two latest matches, with Anthony Rouault taking his place.

Although he is slowly recovering from a groin issue, Djaoui Cisse lacks full match fitness and will almost certainly miss Les Rouge et Noir's trip to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.

Scoring three goals in the first four matches of the league campaign, a tally that can only currently be bettered by a trio of players in the division, Esteban Lepaul is without a doubt the visitor's dangerman and it would be no surprise to see him on the scoresheet this weekend.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Greif; Athekame, Bacher, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Bidstrup, Morton; Nuamah, Sulc, Nakamura; Openda

Rennes possible starting lineup:

Samba; Frankowski, Cresswell, Rouault, Nagida; Rongier; Blas, Thomasson, Camara, Soumare; Lepaul

We say: Lyon 2-1 Rennes

With both teams experiencing fairly similar starts to their respective league campaigns, Saturday's clash is a tough one to call, though it is bound to be an exciting and closely fought contest.

However, we are backing Lyon to make it consecutive victories for the first time this season at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday and climb into the division's Champions League places ahead of the international break.

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