Nimes will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to Nantes when they welcome Rennes to the Stade des Costieres for Sunday's Ligue 1 encounter.
In contrast, Rennes head into the clash following a 2-1 victory over Montpellier in the most recent round of fixtures.
Match preview
Having subjected Brest to a 4-0 drubbing in the opening weekend of the campaign, Nimes fans could have been forgiven for expecting their side to secure another three points against Nantes in gameweek two.
However, Jerome Arpinon's side were given a reality check as goals from Andrei Girotto and Imran Louza set nine-man Nantes on their way to victory against Nimes two weeks ago.
Arpinon will no doubt be disappointed to walk away from that encounter with nothing to show for it, especially considering that Nantes played most of the second half with 10 men after Louza was sent off, with former Manchester United man Fabio also receiving his marching orders for the home side in the dying embers of the game.
Nimes must now navigate two testing fixtures against this year's Champions League hopefuls Rennes before they meet last season's semi-finalists Lyon next Friday, and having managed to stave off relegation by a mere four points last season, securing another campaign of top-flight football will be the ultimate aim once again for Les Crocodiles.
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On the other hand, Rennes recorded their first victory of the new campaign with a 2-1 win over Montpellier last time out, with teenage protege Eduardo Camavinga netting a brilliant solo winner for Julien Stephan's men.
Both sides ended the game with 10 men following red cards to Rennes attacker Martin Terrier and Montpellier's Florent Mollet, but Rennes managed to go one better than they did on the opening weekend where they played out a 1-1 stalemate with Lille.
Les Rouge et Noir will undoubtedly be anticipating their ventures in this season's Champions League, with the group stage draw set to take place in October, but Stephan's men will want to get as many points on the board as possible before they take on the European elite.
With clashes against Monaco, Saint-Etienne and Reims to come for Rennes in the next few weeks, the Champions League hopefuls will be aware that they cannot afford any slip-ups early on if they are to mount a charge for another top-three finish this time around.
Nimes and Rennes have only ever met eight times in the top flight, and Rennes did the double over their opponents in the curtailed 2019-20 campaign, with a 1-0 away victory preceding a 2-1 triumph on home soil.
Rennes took part in a friendly match with Portuguese giants Benfica amid a disrupted fixture schedule, but the Ligue 1 side came up short as Benfica recorded a 2-0 victory last Saturday.
Nimes Ligue 1 form: WL
Rennes Ligue 1 form: DW
Team News
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Nimes have no fresh injury concerns heading into Sunday's clash with Rennes.
Three of Arpinon's players who tested positive for COVID-19, Nolan Roux, Clement Depres and Anthony Briancon, are expected to be involved here should the trio be deemed fit enough.
Rennes will have to make do without Terrier owing to his red card against Montpellier, while Sacha Boey continues to serve a suspension of his own after being sent off in the opening-day draw with Lille.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is reportedly closing in on a move to Chelsea, which means that 36-year-old Romain Salin is in line to feature in between the sticks once again.
Adrien Hunou spearheaded the Rennes attack against Montpellier, but recent arrival Serhou Guirassy is another option up top, with M'Baye Niang's future currently shrouded in uncertainty.
Nimes possible starting lineup:
Reynet; Alakouch, Briancon, Martinez, Meling; Deaux, Cubas; Ferhat, Benrahou, Philippoteaux; Kone
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Salin; Traore, Da Silva, Aguerd, Maouassa; Camavinga, Nzonzi, Bourigeaud; Raphinha, Guirassy, Tait
We say: Nimes 1-3 Rennes
Despite the loss of Terrier and the speculation surrounding Mendy's future, Rennes have picked up where they left off in the top flight and are coming up against a Nimes side who have recorded just one victory over Stephan's men in their history, so we are going for a comfortable away victory in this one.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Nimes win with a probability of 40.89%. A win for Rennes had a probability of 33.1% and a draw had a probability of 26%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nimes win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.7%) and 2-0 (7.02%). The likeliest Rennes win was 0-1 (8.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.36%). The actual scoreline of 2-4 was predicted with a 0.7% likelihood.
