Rennes will be looking to return to winning ways in Ligue 1 when they welcome Angers to the Roazhon Park for Friday night's showdown.
Both sides walked away with a point from their most recent encounters, with Angers drawing with Metz 1-1, while basement side Dijon held Rennes to the same scoreline in gameweek seven.
Match preview
© Reuters
Rennes are beginning to show signs of complacency after such a bright start to the campaign, with Julien Stephan's men drawing their last three games in all competitions.
The Champions League contenders marked their first ever game in Europe's elite competition with a 1-1 draw against Russian outfit FC Krasnodar in midweek - a game which they could have easily taken three points from on another night - with Serhou Guirassy's penalty cancelled out by Cristian Ramirez just before the hour mark.
With a daunting trip to Europa League holders Sevilla to come for Stephan and co next week, Rennes will no doubt want to put an end to their underwhelming recent results in the French top flight, with Les Rouge et Noir being held by two struggling sides in Reims and Dijon over the past couple of weeks.
Lille and Paris Saint-Germain both took advantage to leapfrog Stephan's men - who have now slipped to third in the table heading into gameweek eight - and the Rennes faithful will be praying that this is not the start of a slippery slope for their side as the fixture schedule becomes even more unrelenting for the European hopefuls.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Angers' streak of winning one then losing one in the league ended at the hands of Metz, with both goals coming within mere seconds of each other at the Stade Raymond Kopa.
Thomas Mangani opened the scoring from the spot for Stephane Moulin's men, but Metz - in the absence of top scorer Ibrahima Niane - equalised straight from the restart as Opa Nguette lashed in from close range.
Les Scoistes' first one-pointer of the campaign sees them remain comfortable in mid-table obscurity after seven matches, although their goal difference of -7 is the worst bar the bottom three sides, with that 6-1 thrashing at the hands of PSG doing Moulin's side no favours on that front.
However, Angers may feel like there is no better time to be facing a Rennes side given their recent woes, although Les Scoistes' record against the Champions League contenders is frightfully bad.
Indeed, Rennes have not lost to Angers in the top flight since 1976, and Les Rouge et Noir have won 11 of the last 14 meetings between the two sides in all competitions - including a 2-1 triumph in this fixture last season.
Rennes Ligue 1 form: WWWWDD
Rennes form (all competitions): WWWDDD
Angers Ligue 1 form: LWLWLD
Team News
© Reuters
As expected, Stephan named a near full-strength lineup for the Champions League showdown with Krasnodar, and the Rennes manager may be tempted into a couple of changes with next week's trip to Sevilla in mind.
Eduardo Camavinga's return to action saw the teenager pick up a caution before being subbed off in midweek, but the much-coveted Frenchman should start again here.
Jeremy Doku and Clement Grenier are both options for change for Stephan, who is still without the injured Mbaye Niang and Faitout Maouassa.
With regards to Angers, Moulin must now contend with the loss of Pierrick Capelle, who was forced off at half time against Metz with an adductor problem.
Capelle joins Farid El Melali, Lassana Coulibaly and Mathias Pereira Lage in the treatment room, with Sada Thioub expected to come back into the starting lineup in Capelle's absence.
On a more positive note, Stephane Bahoken is back from suspension and should replace Lois Diony up top.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Gomis; Traore, Da Silva, Aguerd, Dalbert; Camavinga, Bourigeaud, Grenier; Doku, Guirassy, Terrier
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Bamba, Traore, Thomas, Doumbia; Amadou; Thioub, Fulgini, Mangani, Boufal; Bahoken
We say: Rennes 2-1 Angers
Rennes are sure to be desperate to return to winning ways before their Champions League adventure continues, and they ought to feel confident of doing so against a side who they have enjoyed unparalleled success over in recent times. Owing to the hosts' underwhelming spell of form, Angers will be quietly optimistic about their chances of breaking the hoodoo, but we still expect Stephan's men to pull through.
