Rennes vs Olympiakos Piraeus preview and prediction: unbeaten Rennes meet a side with three wins from three

Context

Rennes host Olympiakos Piraeus at Roazhon Park on Thursday 5 November, with kick-off at 17:45 UTC. The match is part of the Europa League.

As things stand at the time of writing, Rennes are 13th in the table after 3 games. They have 1 win, 2 draws and no defeats, with 4 goals scored and 3 conceded. That gives them 5 points.

Olympiakos Piraeus are 5th with 9 points from 3 games. They have won all 3, scoring 4 and conceding 1. The gap between the sides is 4 points, and both tables may change before this fixture.

Rennes: form

Rennes have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 matches, scoring 14 goals and conceding 8. The most recent result was a 3-0 home win over Strasbourg on 25 October.

That followed a 2-2 draw away at Juventus on 22 October and a 3-4 defeat at Paris FC on 18 October. Before those came a 2-1 home win over OFI and a 4-1 home win over Auxerre.

Over 8 matches this season Rennes average 2.3 goals scored and 1.8 conceded per match. They have kept a clean sheet in 25% of those games and failed to score in 13%. In 88% of their games there have been more than 2.5 goals. Their matches have tended to be open.

Olympiakos Piraeus: form

Olympiakos Piraeus have won all of their last 5 matches, scoring 10 goals and conceding none. The latest was a 5-0 home win over Kalamata on 25 October. Before that they beat Sparta Praha 1-0 at home, Panetolikos 2-0 away, Marseille 1-0 away and Panathinaikos 1-0 at home.

Their season numbers point to a tight defence. Across 8 matches they average 1.5 goals scored and 0.3 conceded per match. They have kept a clean sheet in 75% of those games, and only 13% have produced more than 2.5 goals.

Head-to-head

There are no previous meetings between the clubs in the records, so there is no head-to-head history to draw on.

Outlook

No absences are reported for either side at the time of writing.

The two sides come with contrasting profiles. Rennes score regularly and concede regularly, while Olympiakos Piraeus have been hard to score against. Rennes have found the net in almost every game this season, and that will test the visitors' defensive record.

The form points towards a competitive game at Roazhon Park. A tight contest looks likely, with the visitors' defensive record set against a home side that has rarely been quiet in attack. Both teams may play again before this fixture, so the picture could shift.