Toulouse vs Rennes prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-12-16 14:00.
Toulouse will hope that the confidence generated by Thursday’s 2-1 triumph at LASK and consequent qualification for the knockout play-off round of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) can help end their eight-match winless run in Ligue 1 (D4, L4). That serves as the league’s longest current streak without victory, a run extended by a 3-0 loss at bottom club Lyon last weekend.
Les Violets’ chances of bouncing back aren’t necessarily boosted by a return to more familiar surroundings, as they have only won one of their six home league games this term (D4, L1), a joint-low figure. Manager Carles MartĂnez Novell can perhaps inspire his players by reminding them of last season’s 3-1 triumph at home to Rennes, which was overseen by the Spaniard’s predecessor Philippe Montanier and followed a sequence of seven H2Hs without victory for Toulouse (D2, L5).
Rennes suffered the disappointment of missing out on top spot in their UEL group courtesy of a 3-2 defeat to Villarreal, who leapfrogged them in the process. Like Toulouse, the Bretons have also accumulated just four points over their last eight Ligue 1 games (W1, D1, L6), with their solitary win coming in returning manager Julien Stéphan’s first match back in charge against Reims on 26th November.
Stéphan may well be heading into this fixture in a buoyant mood though, as he has never lost a managerial H2H against Toulouse (W2, D2), with three of those results (W2, D1) achieved during his first spell at Rennes between December 2018 and March 2021. A good omen like this is sorely needed for Les Rouges et Noirs, who along with Lorient, are the only two teams yet to pick up an away victory in Ligue 1 this season.
Players to watch: Toulouse’s Thijs Dallinga is one goal away from hitting double figures for the campaign in all competitions, with the last five all having come after half-time. Benjamin Bourigeaud, meanwhile, is Rennes’ leading goal contributor in Ligue 1 this season with six (G4, A2), but he is also a thorn in the referee’s side, having amassed three yellow cards before the break in his last six competitive club outings.
Hot stat: Rennes’ last five Ligue 1 games have seen six red cards issued.