Rennes will look to secure their first three points of the new Ligue 1 season at the second attempt when they play host to Montpellier HSC at the Roazhon Park on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the fixture will be Montpellier's first outing of the season after their proposed opening-day clash with Champions League semi-finalists Lyon was postponed.

Match preview

Rennes manager Julien Stephan on the touchline in the Europa League on February 14, 2019. © Reuters

In what was billed as the pick of the fixtures in the opening weekend of the season, the clash between high-flying Lille and Rennes was marred by two sendings-off before the half-time whistle blew.

A high boot from Rennes youngster Sacha Boey on Lille's Reinildo saw him receive his marching orders, and the victim of Boey's challenge soon became the aggressor as Reinildo also saw red for a challenge on Raphinha.

Rennes just about managed to salvage a point following the opener from Lille's Jonathan Bamba, as a second-half equaliser from captain Damien Da Silva saw the two teams share the spoils on the opening weekend.

Julien Stephan's men are now returning to the familiar surroundings of the Roazhon Park for their clash with Montpellier, where they have only lost once in the French top flight since October - enjoying eight wins from 10 in that run.

Montpellier boss Michel Der Zakarian pictured in March 2019 © Reuters

Meanwhile, Montpellier were due to kick off their season against Lyon last weekend, but La Paillade would be forced to wait for their first match of the season owing to Lyon's Champions League exploits.

Michel Der Zakarian's side finished the curtailed 2019-20 campaign just one point adrift of the top six with 40 points to show from 28 matches, and Montpellier will undoubtedly be motivated to push for a European berth this time around.

Der Zakarian's men endured a mixed bag of pre-season results - Montpellier lost to Strasbourg, shared the spoils with Bastia and Metz and secured a 3-1 victory over Rodez.

Rennes subjected Montpellier to 5-0 drubbing in this fixture last season - which ended up being both teams' final game of the season - and the Champions League contenders also enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Der Zakarian's men earlier in the 2019-20 campaign.

Furthermore, Rennes are unbeaten in their last eight Ligue 1 matches against Montpellier, with La Paillade's most recent victory against Stephan's men coming in the 2015-16 season.

Rennes Ligue 1 form: D

Team News

Eduardo Camavinga has a rest during Rennes training on July 1, 2020 © Reuters

Rennes have confirmed three more cases of coronavirus in their squad, but the French outfit have not identified the players who tested positive.

Boey went off on a stretcher following his sending off in the clash with Lille, but the right-back will still serve a three-match suspension regardless.

Teenage protege Eduardo Camavinga came off the bench to bag the assist for Da Silva's equaliser, and the highly-rated midfielder should be deemed fit enough to start here.

Montpellier have bolstered their defence with the signing of goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Basel, and the 26-year-old is in line to make his competitive debut for the French outfit this weekend.

Defender Nicolas Cozza is now stepping up his recovery from an ACL injury and is set to return to training next week, but 42-year-old captain Vitorino Hilton is a doubt with a thigh problem.

Striker Andy Delort, who notched up nine top-flight goals last season, has resumed individual training after testing positive for coronavirus.

Rennes possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Soppy, Da Silva, Aguerd, Maouassa; Martin, Camavinga, Bourigeaud; Raphinha, Niang, Terrier

Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Mendes, Congre, Hilton; Souquet, Le Tallec, Chotard, Oyongo; Savanier, Mollet; Laborde

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We say: Rennes 1-1 Montpellier HSC

Depending on any further action taken as a result of Rennes' coronavirus cases, Montpellier may be forced to wait even longer to take to the pitch. The players who tested positive for COVID-19 at Rennes are also unknown, and should the game be given the green light to go ahead, we are backing Montpellier to walk away with a point to show for their efforts.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rennes win with a probability of 49.83%. A draw had a probability of 25.7% and a win for Montpellier HSC had a probability of 24.45%.

The most likely scoreline for a Rennes win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.44%) and 2-1 (9.32%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.19%), while for a Montpellier HSC win it was 0-1 (7.98%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Rennes would win this match.