Stade Rennais vs. Montpellier 8/29/20 Ligue 1 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Stade Rennais is hosting Montpellier at Roazhon Park in round 2 in French Ligue 1.

Rennais was solid in the preseason, but unfortunately for them, they weren’t able to win their opening game of the season. In their first game of the season against Lille on the road, Rennais has had 49% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 2 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and solid 85% of the correct passes. After conceding a red card in the 35th minute, Rennais also conceded a goal in the 40th minute, but luckily for them, Lille also conceded a red card in the 43rd minute. In the 74th minute, Rennais was able to tie the score, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Damien da Silva is the only goalscorer for Rennais after the first game of the season. Boey is the only injured player for Rennais as of right now. Rennais is a good team, I think they have the quality to be in the top 10 in Ligue 1, easily, but I have a feeling that Rennais might be fighting for the Europa League this season as well. Rennais didn’t win their first game of the season, but they also didn’t lose.

Montpellier was solid in the preseason, but their first Ligue 1 game was postponed because Lyon was still playing in the Champions League at that time. During their 4 preseason games, Montpellier has scored 7 goals, while conceding 6 goals. Montpellier scored and conceded a goal in each of their 4 friendly games in the preseason. Montpellier was close to the Europa League last season, but since it was canceled, Montpellier ended the season in 8th place with 40 points, 35 scored goals, and 34 conceded goals. Omlin is the only injured player for Montpellier. Mavididi is the most significant signing for Montpellier in the offseason for 6.93 million Euros from Juventus, while Omlin was bought from Basel for 6.6 million. There are no notable departures from Montpellier as of right now. There are some good players in Montpellier, and they have had good last season, on both ends, but I don’t expect Montpellier to be fighting for the Europa League or the Champions League. Montpellier is playing compact soccer, but judging by their preseason games, their defense is not yet on the level it should be, and Montpellier is conceding a lot of goals, but the good news is that Montpellier is scoring goals and they are compensating for their bad defense, at least for now.

When playing at home, Rennais has not lost to Montpellier in their last 5 games. Rennais hasn’t lost any of their last 5 home games, while Montpellier has lost their last 6 away games in a row. The trends are mixed here, but I think Rennais is the slightly better team here, and they are playing at home, but Montpellier is scoring a lot of goals, and they could be a surprise here. I think I will pick something on goals here.