On Wednesday, fifth-placed Strasbourg will bid to extend their current unbeaten run to 11 matches when they play host to Rennes, who sit in third position.

The visitors, meanwhile, will be looking for a positive response after a 3-2 defeat to Monaco ended an impressive run of form, which saw Rennes go seven Ligue 1 games without defeat.

Match preview

Since returning to Ligue 1 in 2017, Strasbourg have finished no higher than 11th, so not many pundits would have predicted that with six games to go in the current campaign that they would be firmly in the battle for the European places.

Currently sat in fifth place, Le Racing are three points adrift of Wednesday's opponents, who currently occupy the third and final Champions League qualification spot.

Although they may be looking up, Wednesday's hosts also have to be mindful of those chasing from behind with sixth-placed Monaco level on points with Le Racing ahead of the midweek fixtures.

Strasbourg are currently enjoying a 10-game unbeaten run, but six draws in that period have potentially prevented them from already occupying a top-three spot, with their last two matches ending in 1-1 draws.

Julien Stephan's side were five minutes away from claiming three points against Troyes at the weekend after Habib Diallo had given his team the lead from the spot, but another penalty late on saw Florian Tardieu level the encounter to frustrate Strasbourg, with six of their last eight matches finishing all square.

After achieving a sixth-placed finish last season, Rennes would have expected to be among the European places this term, although they may have settled for either a Europa League or Europa Conference League spot.

However, with Bruno Genesio's charges currently sat in third position, they will now be dreaming of featuring in Europe's elite competition next season.

Rennes may also be eyeing second spot, with Marseille just three points ahead of Les Rennais, although like their hosts, they must also be wary of the chasing pack.

On Friday, Rennes fell short in a five-goal thriller against Monaco despite taking the lead through Flavien Tait, as Philippe Clement's side roared in front thanks to goals from Vanderson, Wissam Ben Yedder and Myron Boadu and although Martin Terrier reduced the deficit in stoppage time, it was all too little too late.

Although they lost out to Monaco, the second-highest scorers in Ligue 1 will believe that they can pick up all three points on Wednesday after winning three of their last four away league games.

Team News

Injury issues will prevent the trio of Ismael Doukoure, Nordine Kandil and Majeed Waris from participating for the hosts in the midweek fixture.

Despite scoring from the spot against Troyes, Diallo may drop down to the bench, with Ludovic Ajorque - who has scored 11 league goals this season - likely to partner Kevin Gameiro in the frontline.

Stephan could also bring Jean-Ricner Bellegarde back into the starting lineup, which would result in Habib Diarra dropping out of the side.

As for the visitors, they have a number of injury absentees, with Loic Bade, Jeremy Doku, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Alfred Gomis all unavailable for Wednesday's contest.

Nayef Aguerd missed Friday's encounter due to illness and the Morocco international remains a doubt for the trip to Stade de la Meinau.

Terrier will continue to operate on the left flank for Rennes and the 25-year-old will be looking to continue his impressive form after scoring in each of his last four matches.

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Perrin, Djiku, Nyamsi; Caci, Aholou, Bellegarde, Sissoko, Lienard; Gamiero, Ajorque

Rennes possible starting lineup:
Alemdar; Traore, Santamaria, Omari, Truffert; Tait, Martin; Bourigeaud, Majer, Terrier; Laborde

We say: Strasbourg 2-2 Rennes

Strasbourg have struggled to convert draws into victories in recent weeks, and with the two sides separated by just three points in the Ligue 1 table, we think that Le Racing could see their midweek encounter with Rennes also end all square.

Previews by email