Rennes Vs Montpellier
Rennes Vs Montpellier Saturday 29 August 2020 – 16:00 Kick-Off
French Ligue 1
Pick: Rennes to WIN
Odds: 21/20
Bookmaker: Unibet
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 26 August 2020)
Preview: In a repeat of their clash here in March of last season, which the home side ran out comprehensive 5-0 winners in, Rennes welcome Montpellier to Roazhon Park for the sole Ligue 1 fixture scheduled for Saturday.
French Ligue 1 Betting at 22Bet
Table of Contents
Rennes Preview – Return of Camavinga can propel hosts?
A surprisingly low-key summer in the transfer market from Rennes. The Brittany outfit had grown rather accustomed to losing star performers in recent times – Ismailia Sarr moving to Watford last summer the most high-profile – but have so far fended off potential suitors. Instead, choosing to reinforce a collective which helped to secure the club a place in the Champions League for the first time in their history.
The club have added both defensive and offensive reinforcements in shape of former Dijon defender Nayef Aguerd and winger Martin Terrier, signed from Lyon. The pair started last week’s Ligue 1 opener in Lille, however, it wasn’t until Eduardo Camavinga’s second-half introduction that Rennes came to life; the prodigious 17-year-old supplying an assist and almost grabbing a winner in a 1-1 draw.
Rennes won the xG battle last time out, and convincingly so (xG: LIL 0.39 – 1.58), limiting a Lille side that finished 2019/20 in fourth to no big chances. The sort of performance one might expect from a team playing at home. Les Rennais are at home on this occasion, however, which is positive as last season’s total of 29 points from 14 home games (W9 D2 L3) was bettered by just three teams.
Montpellier Preview – Have last season’s away day woes been rectified?
Last season promised plenty, with a spot in Europe the hot topic of conversation among supporters on more than one occasion, only for that promise to gradually ebb away by the time Ligue 1 was abruptly halted in March. A run of four defeats in seven was how Montpellier disappointingly ended the campaign, coming home in a respectable eighth place to finish inside the top-half for the third season on the spin.
With some vastly improved performances away from home, however, we might have been talking about a club in Europe. An average of 2.27 points-per-game at home was up there with the very best in the league. However, a return of 0.57 PPG when away, converting one of fourteen said matches into a win (W1 D5 L8), was down there with the very worst, superior only to that of Toulouse (20th), Nimes (18th) and Dijon (16th).
Clearly, then, Michel Der Zakarian knew what area was most in need of an overhaul over the summer, and, after not featuring on the opening weekend, can have no excuses having had ample time to construct a game plan. Yet this was a team which lost its final four away encounters of last season – at PSG (5-0), Monaco (1-0), Angers (1-0), and, most pertinent of them all, Rennes (5-0) – by a combined aggregate of 0-12.
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Rennes Vs Montpellier Betting Advice
In Ligue 1 last season, Rennes were typically very reliable inside Roazhon Park, winning all but five of fourteen matches (W9 D2 L3) on their own patch, offering would-be backers a level of consistency that Montpellier simply could not. The latter claiming one solitary away win all season, that against a relegated Amiens, and would see out 2019/20 by losing four consecutive away fixtures without so much as scoring in either.
Rennes Vs Montpellier – Key Facts
- Across their last ten Ligue 1 home games, Rennes have tasted defeat on one occasion – a late 1-0 defeat to Marseille – winning eight and drawing the other.
- In 14 away matches in 2019-20 Montpellier only managed the one away win (W1 D3 L10), which came against a poor Amiens side who were later relegated.
- Rennes extended their unbeaten record versus Montpellier in Ligue 1 contests to eight (W4 D4) with their emphatic 5-0 home victory in March of last season.
Sadly, we won’t know whether any improvements have been made by Montpellier until a later date. In the meantime, we work off last season’s results which suggest the odds about a Rennes win this weekend are big. The hosts have strengthened over the summer, can field the hugely talented Camavinga from the start, impressed first time out in Lille, and were emphatic 5-0 victors when these sides met here in March.
Best Betting Odds – Rennes Vs Montpellier
Rennes – 21/20 (Unibet)
Draw – 12/5 (Betfair)
Montpellier – 3/1 (BetFred)
