At the dawn of the new year, Nice and Rennes will renew their Ligue 1 rivalry on Friday at the Allianz Riviera. The two teams have faced each other in their first match of the calendar year for the past three seasons, with Rennes emerging victorious in the previous two meetings.
Currently sixth, Nice will aim to extend their unbeaten home run in the French elite.
Franck Haise’s men narrowly avoided an embarrassing Coupe de France exit to Corte, in National 3, just before the winter break, requiring penalties to progress after going down a man.
In their last league outing, Nice twice surrendered one-goal leads to draw 2-2 against bottom-of-the-table Montpellier.
Rennes, meanwhile, sit 12th in the Ligue 1 table, just four points clear of the relegation zone. The Breton club sacked its manager Julien Stéphane earlier in the season, with Jorge Sampaoli now at the helm.
Sampaoli made it three wins from his first five matches, including a 2-0 win over Bordeaux in the Coupe de France.
Team News
Nice will be without several key players due to injuries, including top scorer Terem Moffi, midfielder Morgan Sanson and veteran defender Dante.
Rennes, meanwhile, are expected to do without the services of Alidu Seidu, who is absent due to an ACL injury.
Possible compositions
Pleasant: (4-3-3)
Bun;
Clauss, Rosary, Bombito, Bard;
Bouanani, Boudaoui, Ndombele;
Laborde, Guessand, Diop
Rennes: (3-4-3)
Mandanda;
Hateboer, Ostigard, Truffert;
Assignon, James, Matusiwa, Nagida;
Blas, Gouiri, California
Given Nice’s impressive form at home and Rennes’ struggles away, the hosts should emerge victorious from this encounter. A close and open match is expected, with a victory for Nice.
