Montpellier vs Rennes prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2025-03-01 16:15.
[p]After a hint of a revival in January, Montpellier’s miserable season has hit the rocks again. Since back-to-back 2-1 wins over Monaco and Toulouse in January, La Paillade have returned to the foot of Ligue 1 thanks to a run of four successive defeats. They enter this round seven points from safety, and with only 11 games remaining, time is running out to maintain their top-flight status.[/p]
[p]The pressure is therefore rising on manager Jean-Louis Gasset, who returned for a third spell at the helm in October but has picked up only three league wins from 15 attempts (D2, L10). One way of securing a few more points might be to tighten up a defence which has been breached at least twice in those four successive losses, while also conceding a league-high of 54 goals ahead of this round, failing to keep a single clean sheet in the process.[/p]
[p]Opponents Rennes have fared much better at that end of the field in recent weeks under new management, as since Habib Beye took over as manager, they have bounced back immediately to win three of their last four games (L1) without conceding. When he joined at the end of January, the club were in relegation trouble, but they have since moved into a much more comfortable position, sitting seven points clear of the bottom three ahead of this round.[/p]
[p]There is still plenty of work to do to secure their place in Ligue 1 next season, especially on the road, as only Montpellier and Saint-Étienne have picked up fewer than the Red and Blacks’ four away points (W1, D1, L8). That victory came in their most recent fixture on their travels though, a 2-0 success against fellow strugglers Saint-Étienne, while Rennes’ record of just two defeats in the last 17 H2Hs (W10, D5) should instill further confidence.[/p]
[p]Key battle: Montpellier will be desperate for Benjamin Lecomte to extend his recent run of five unbeaten home H2Hs (W3, D2), keeping clean sheets in the last two. This would be a good game for Mousa Tamari, who joined from La Paillade in February, to break his Rennes duck, particularly as he lost just four of the 31 career club games in which he has scored (W24, D3).[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Montpellier led at half time in a league-low one of their 23 league games this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Matt Jones[/i][/p]