The ‘Les Gones’ followed that up with an impressive win at Porto in midweek, making them worthy pre-match favourites here.
Lyon
Lyon may be focused on the UEFA Europa League as their likeliest route to a Champions League berth next term, but they began March in ruthless fashion, netting two goals inside the first half-hour en-route to a 4-1 thrashing of Lorient. They followed that up with an impressive win at Porto in midweek, making them worthy pre-match favourites here. Another win will move mid-table Lyon to within two points of opponents Rennes, and Lyon’s home league form in 2022 has been positive, with three of the four games won either way seeing the victor lead at half-time. Another strong start can only provide a boost as Lyon last lost a home game after scoring first back in May 2021.
Rennes
Rennes endured very different luck on their own European travels in midweek, going down 2-0 to Leicester, and having a day’s less rest than Lyon may hinder them further in their quest for a second top-three finish in three seasons. Yet, they are in good domestic form, with a 2-0 victory over Angers last weekend marking their third straight league win. That can only boost their morale ahead of a sterner test, though Rennes are in positive territory across their previous seven away H2Hs vs Lyon, with the last five in Ligue 1 seeing the winning team keep a clean sheet. On a cautionary note, however, Rennes’ last away point against a team starting this week in the top half still dates back to February 2021.
Moussa Dembele has netted a penalty inside the first 15 minutes in two of Lyon’s last three home victories. Should Rennes get a penalty themselves, Gaetan Laborde will likely step up, having netted second-half goals in his previous three Ligue 1 games, including two penalties. Just one of the last 19 Ligue 1 H2Hs has seen both teams score before half-time.