Rennes vs Reims Prediction: Hosts to taste success in relegation six-pointer

Just a point separates Rennes (13th) and Reims (14th) in the Ligue 1 table ahead of their Friday night game at Roazhon Park (19:45). Relegation to France's second tier is still a real possibility for both clubs with 16th-place St. Etienne, currently occupying the relegation play-off position, just five and four points behind Les Rouge et Noirs and Les Rouges et Blancs respectively.

This all makes for a fascinating contest on Friday, and ahead of it, you can check out my Rennes vs Reims predictions below, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Three Rennes players are suspended for Friday's game; Cameroonian defender Christopher Wooh received a red card for two bookable offences in last Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Lille at Roazhon Park, where goalkeeper Brice Samba was cautioned. The French shot-stopper, alongside countryman Ludovic Blas, are banned for the visit of Reims due to an accumulation of cards in the competition.

As a result, Rennes head coach Habib Beye must make a minimum of three changes to his starting XI.

Veteran goalie Steve Mandanda will replace Samba between the sticks, Hans Hataboer could fill in at centre-back for Wooh, and Kyogo Furuhashi is in line to deputise for Blas in attack.

Seko Fofana could also start in midfield after successive second-half substitute appearances, as could Jordan James, who served a suspension last weekend for too many yellows in Ligue 1.

Dogan Alemdar, Alidue Seidu (both knee) and Jeremy Jacquet (unspecified) are all expected to miss out through injury, but Azor Matusiwa may return from a three-game illness absence.

Football Odds

Zabi was shown a straight red card in Reims' 4-0 humbling at Lyon on February 9 and the 18-year-old midfielder is still serving a ban despite missing last Sunday's 1-0 defeat at home to Angers.

Jordan Siebatcheu (hamstring), Mohammed Daramy, Reda Khadra (both knee), Yaya-Kader Fofana (ankle) and Abdul Kone (thigh) are on the visitors' treatment table.

Paris Saint-Germain loanee Gabriel Moscardo has been unavailable recently due to South American U20 World Cup qualifying, but following its conclusion, the Brazilian has returned to Reims.

Rennes vs Reims Odds

Rennes have won the last two meetings between these sides at Roazhon Park and 82.6% (19) of their 23 points this season have been won at home. Les Rouge et Noirs are 5/6 to take all three points on Friday, implying a 54.5% probability, while Reims are 7/2, or a 22.2% chance, to claim a fourth success on their league travels this season.

There hasn't been a stalemate in this head-to-head since April 2021 with Reims winning four and Rennes three of the last seven meetings; a long-awaited draw between the pair can be backed at 5/2 and both teams to score, which has landed in the last three H2H's, is priced at 10/11.

Kyogo and Arnaud Kalimuendo (both 7/4) head the anytime goalscorer market with Keito Nakamura (3/1) first up for the visitors.

Match Result - Rennes @ 5/6

Reims have been decent travellers in 2024/25, winning three and drawing the same number of their 10 away outings in Ligue 1, which ranks them 9th for points in the 'away' table, and they won both head-to-heads with Rennes in 2024.

However, both of those triumphs were at the Stade Auguste Delaune, and their hosts on Friday tend to reserve their best results and performances for Roazhon Park, winning half (six) of their 12 league games there this season.

Beye's side have lost three of their last four on home soil but all three sides - Marseille (second), Lille (fifth) and Brest (ninth) - to have beaten them in Rennes this calendar year, reside in the top half of Ligue 1.

Reims went unbeaten in their first three away league games this season, winning two of them, but have won just one of their last seven, losing four times.

It may not be a pretty win for Rennes, but I expect them to claw their way to victory and ease their relegation concerns.

Player to Receive a Card - Valentin Atangana Edoa (REI) @ 100/30

Only six players have been cautioned more times than Valentin Atangana Edoa in Ligue 1 this season with the Reims midfielder shown six yellow cards in 22 appearances.

The 19-year-old has managed to avoid a booking in his last five games - four in the league - but Friday feels like a contest in which he could be scribbled in the referee's notebook again.

Atangana is averaging 1.5 fouls per game in the French top flight this term, giving away two free-kicks against Angers last time out, and while he kept his slate clean in September's reverse fixture against Rennes, there have been developments in their playing squad which may see him make a few fouls on Friday.

Mousa Al-Taamari completed a deadline-day switch from Montpellier to Rennes and has started his new side's last two matches. The Jordan international was fouled once in a 2-0 win at St. Etienne on February 8 before being felled three times by Lille last week, and his fouled-per-game average for the season in Ligue 1 is 1.8 (1.9 p/g in 2023/24).

Take a quick look at the left-footed attacker's heat map this season and last and you can see that he takes most of his touches on the right-hand side of the attacking third, looking to cut in and shoot on his favoured foot at every possibility. That, then, makes him a direct opponent for left-backs, as well as midfielders that shift across to those areas.

Atangana's heat map points to a midfielder who likes to get around the pitch, covering both sides as well as everything that goes on in the middle of the park. His defensive work against Angers last weekend was mostly done in the left-back position and as a result, we may well see him and Al-Taamari come into close contact on Friday.

The Rennes forward has the quality to cause Atangana problems and thus the visiting midfielder may be forced to take alternative action to deal with his threat.

I like the look of Atangana to be carded at Roazhon Park, particularly at odds of 100/30.

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