Angers vs Rennes

With both teams eager to ease their growing relegation concerns, Angers and Rennes will face off at Stade Raymond Kopa in a crucial Ligue 1 encounter on Sunday afternoon.

Angers enter the match on the back of three consecutive defeats before the final international break of the season, while Rennes will be determined to avoid a similar slump by securing a positive result this weekend.

Following their second-place finish in Ligue 2 last season and automatic promotion to the top tier, Angers have been striving to maintain their Ligue 1 status. Currently positioned for a respectable finish, they are keen to avoid an immediate return to the second division.

However, Le SCO have endured a challenging March, suffering three successive losses without scoring a single goal while conceding eight. This poor run has reignited fears that they could be dragged back into the relegation battle.

Angers last picked up a Ligue 1 point away at Saint-Etienne on February 22 and have since dropped to 14th in the table. Despite holding a six-point cushion above Le Havre in the relegation playoff spot, their position remains precarious.

One key concern for Alexandre Dujeux’s side is their underwhelming home record. Having collected just 11 points from 13 matches at Stade Raymond Kopa, they rank 16th in the league based on home performances and must improve if they want to steer clear of danger.

Meanwhile, Rennes are on course for their worst league finish since the 2013-14 season, currently at risk of ending outside the top 10. The visitors will be looking to turn their fortunes around following the international break.

A pair of victories over Reims and Montpellier had briefly raised hopes of a resurgence, but Rennes stumbled again before the break, suffering defeats against Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco.

These back-to-back losses saw Habib Beye’s side slip to 12th in the standings, now trailing sixth-placed Lille by a massive 15 points—the position that guarantees a place in next season’s Conference League.

While his team flirts with midtable mediocrity, Arnaud Kalimuendo-Muinga has had a productive spell on a personal level, scoring 11 goals in 25 league appearances, putting the 23-year-old one goal away from matching his best-ever goalscoring season in Ligue 1.

Angers will be missing their best marksman, Himad Abdelli, who received a suspension-inducing yellow card in the defeat to Monaco before the international break.

Rennes, like their opponents on Sunday, will be without a key player for the foreseeable future, with centre-back Alidu Seidu sidelined by a major knee injury.