Will the Bretons Capitalize on Juve’s Slump?
If the top sportsbooks are to be believed, the pick for Juventus vs. Rennes should be a home win for the Bianconeri. However, in our assessment, there are several reasons to the contrary. While the Zebre have won both of their Europa League matches, the record champions are in the midst of a crisis on the domestic front. Following the 0-3 home debacle against Lazio Rome, Luciano Spalletti’s team has slipped to eighth place, and the coach—who, according to media reports, has fallen out with his defensive leader Gleison Bremer—has increasingly fallen out of favor.
Just how much Juve has lost its luster is also evident in an interesting side story: Over the summer, the Vecchia Signora made a massive push to sign 22-year-old midfield gem Djaoui Cissé, who would have been released by Stade Rennes. However, the player showed no interest whatsoever in joining the Zebre. Now he’s heading to Liguria after all, where our Juventus vs. Rennes prediction points to a high-scoring match.
The Bretons have already scored 15 goals in Ligue 1—one more than PSG (14). However, the country’s strongest offense is paired with one of the most porous defenses. The 14 goals the Rouge et Noirs have already conceded in just seven league games are surpassed by only five other teams, all of which are stuck at the bottom of the table. In fact, Rennes’ last 38 competitive matches have averaged 3.4 goals per game.
From a purely value-based perspective, it would therefore even be conceivable to bet on the French side earning a point; however, they also suffered a setback in their final warm-up match on Sunday, losing 3–4 to Paris FC. With an away win on the Seine, the Rouge et Noirs could even have taken the top spot in the standings. But Franck Haise’s team still managed to score three goals in that match as well.
Juventus – Rennes Head-to-Head Record
Head-to-Head: 1 – 1 – 0
These two teams once faced off in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup final. After Juventus Turin won the first leg in Liguria 2–0, the second leg in Brittany ended in a 2–2 draw. Of course, these two matches don’t hold all that much significance for our Juventus vs. Rennes prediction today.
Juventus vs. Rennes Prediction
Compounding Juventus’s problems is the fact that, on top of the tensions resulting from their recent slump, the team is also dealing with a packed infirmary. Kenan Yildiz, Khephren Thuram, and Manuel Locatelli are out, and now Francisco Conceicao has also suffered a shoulder injury against Lazio Rome that will sideline him for three weeks. His replacement, Edon Zhegrova, on the other hand, wasn’t even registered for the Europa League due to the surplus of midfielders. As a result, Spalletti now has to improvise considerably.
However, Rennes’ three-goal scorer Esteban Lepaul from the 3-4 loss to Paris FC also complained of ankle problems and may be sidelined as well. This makes it difficult for both coaches to predict the opposing team’s starting lineup and adjust their tactics accordingly.
What both teams have in common, however, are defensive problems. Rennes conceded a total of eight goals in their last two Ligue 1 away losses—against Paris FC (3–4) and Lyon (0–4)—while the Bianconeri, in turn, lost 0–3 to Lazio Rome at home on Sunday. Against this backdrop, we expect a high-scoring match and recommend betting on at least three goals being scored during the game.
