Rennes vs Clermont prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-02-17 14:00.
When Julien Stéphan replaced Bruno Génésio as Stade Rennais’ manager in November, the club were lurking just above the Ligue 1 relegation zone. Four months later, and following a recent run of four successive league victories, the club are starting the gameweek in seventh and dreaming of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for just the second time in their history.
It really has been a remarkable turnaround for the Red and Blacks, who went nine games unbeaten (W7, D2), until coming unstuck in a 3-0 defeat to AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. Rennes are back on a happy hunting ground in Roazhon Park for this clash though, where they have been beaten only three times in the league since the start of April last year (W9, D3).
The home side will fancy their chances of continuing the good form against Clermont, who have lost four of the six H2HS (L2), including a 3-1 reversal in December. That will not make good reading for the division’s strugglers who head into the round bottom of the table and three points from safety following a run of one win from their last ten league outings (D4, L5).
Such form has piled the pressure on manager Pascal Gastien, although some of that tension was eased by a hard-fought 1-1 draw against high-flying Brest last weekend. The boss accepts stalemates will not be enough to drag his team out of pressure though, and they will now attempt to improve one of Ligue 1’s worst away records of just two victories from ten attempts (D3, L5).
Key battle: From Benjamin Bourigeaud’s last 15 goals for Rennes, 13 served as the first or last of the game. Attempting to thwart him will be Clermont goalkeeper ​​Mory Diaw, who has kept just one clean sheet in his last 12 away games, conceding at least two goals on seven occasions.
Hot stat: Nine of Rennes’ 11 home league games have seen both teams score, a high for the division.