Lorient vs Rennes » Prediction, Watch Live + Odds & Stats 27.01.2023

Lorient and Rennes will meet in an important Ligue 1 clash on Friday night as both attempt to further their European dreams.

After two years of flirting with the relegation zone upon returning to the top flight, Lorient are starting to look like a really cohesive unit. They had some exciting stars coming through the ranks and on their best day, we’d make the argument that they can beat just about anyone in French football.

After a losing return against Montpellier, Lorient went on a nice three-game unbeaten run with wins over Angers and La Chataigneraie, followed by a draw with Monaco. They proceeded to drop a loss to Marseille before just about edging past Bastia on penalties in the Coupe de France.

If Ligue 1 was decided on who has the best fans, Rennes would certainly be in the title race. Alas, it’s based on ability, and they’re also pretty strong in that department too. They are in fifth place and based on the last few years, it seems inevitable that they’ll be in the mix come the end of the season.

An uncharacteristic loss to Reims seemed to wake Rennes up, as they went on to beat Nice and Bordeaux in both the league and cup. Another weird loss followed to Clermont before a home clash with PSG on January 15th, which they won, only to be knocked out of the Coupe de France by Marseille five days later.

Ibrahima Kone is expected to lead the line for Lorient here. Julien Laporte is out through injury whereas the big expectation is that the gaffer will be making big changes, as he’s done in their last few games.

Martin Terrier will not return for Rennes as a result of an ACL injury that has ended his campaign. Xeka is also missing through a sprained ankle with questions still being present over Steve Mandanda’s fitness.

Both teams are pretty solid at the back when they want to be and given the physicality we expect to see in this game, we’re going to predict a draw.