Rennes will be looking to end a run of five games without a win when they welcome Brest to the Roazhon Park for Saturday's Ligue 1 fixture.
Meanwhile, the visitors are hoping to avoid a third consecutive defeat following losses to Nantes and Strasbourg over the past couple of weeks.
Match preview
Rennes started the 2020-21 campaign with a huge amount of promise and stormed to the top of the rankings in Ligue 1, but juggling domestic and European commitments seems to be taking its toll on Julien Stephan's men given their underwhelming recent results.
Indeed, Les Rouge et Noir are winless since a 3-0 triumph over Saint-Etienne back in September - drawing to Reims, Dijon and Krasnodar and suffering back-to-back defeats against Angers and Sevilla since - with Stephan's side succumbing to a Luuk de Jong winner against the latter in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Stephan saw another couple of his players suffer injuries in the midweek defeat and bemoaned the hectic fixture schedule following his side's second defeat in a row, with Rennes recently slipping down in the Ligue 1 table to third - now three points behind Lille and Paris Saint-Germain - neither of whom are showing any signs of slowing down.
Rennes must take on PSG and Chelsea before the international break, so Saturday's visit of Brest is undoubtedly Les Rouge et Noir's best opportunity to register three points and end their woeful winless run, and they should feel confident of doing so after Brest suffered a dampening defeat to a lowly Strasbourg side in gameweek eight.
Strasbourg had only managed to accumulate one top-flight victory compared to Brest's three before last weekend's meeting, but Olivier Dall'Oglio's men were simply outclassed by their opponents, who marched to a 3-0 victory courtesy of goals from Kenny Lala, Ludovic Ajorque and Habib Diallo.
Brest's fifth defeat of the season was a crushing blow for a side who have shown signs of promise in the early stages of the new season, but Les Pirates have now dropped to 14th in the table and hold the unfortunate record of the joint-most goals conceded in the league with 18 - a tally that is only shared by basement side Dijon.
While this weekend's visitors may feel cautiously optimistic of taking points off of an out-of-form Rennes side, Dall'Oglio's men are facing the first of three challenging games as Lille and Saint-Etienne lie in wait for Brest, whose only away victory this season has come at Dijon.
Furthermore, Les Pirates are winless against Rennes since 2011, with the Champions League contenders unbeaten in their last seven against Saturday's opponents, although both fixtures between the two sides last season ended goalless.
Rennes Ligue 1 form: WWWDDL
Rennes form (all competitions): WDDDLL
Brest Ligue 1 form: WWLWLL
Team News
Rennes duo Daniele Rugani and Benjamin Bourigeaud both had to be withdrawn in the loss to Sevilla due to suspected hamstring and calf injuries respectively, and the pair are major doubts for the weekend.
Rugani's absence should see Nayef Aguerd come back into the heart of the defence, while Bourigeaud's injury is less of a concern given the fact that Steven Nzonzi is back for this one having served a suspension in midweek.
However, Stephan's midfield problems do not end there as Eduardo Camavinga was nowhere to be seen on Wednesday, with James Lea Siliki an option for change amid an unforgiving run of fixtures.
Brest have less to worry about on the injury front, with Denys Bain and Ronael Pierre-Gabriel the only confirmed absentees for Dall'Oglio ahead of Saturday.
Wholesale changes are unlikely for the visitors after nearly a full weeks' worth of rest, but Franck Honorat and Romain Philippoteaux will be pushing for starts out wide having both come off the bench against Strasbourg.
Rennes possible starting lineup:
Gomis; Soppy, Aguerd, Da Silva, Traore; Nzonzi, Martin, Grenier; Castillo, Guirassy, Terrier
Brest possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Faussurier, Herelle, Duverne, Perraud; Lasne, Belkebla; Honorat, Charbonnier, Philippoteaux; Mounie
We say: Rennes 1-0 Brest
The hectic fixture schedule is sure to cause problems for any side competing domestically and internationally at the minute, and Brest will look to take advantage of the hosts' fatigue as they eye a victory on Saturday. However, Rennes know the importance of a victory here as they look to keep the pressure on the leading pack, and despite their poor run of form coupled with a number of injury concerns, we think Stephan's men will do enough to end their winless run here.
