Rennes to miss Brice Samba and Ludovic Blas for Ligue 1 clash with Reims | OneFootball

A 2-0 victory over AS Saint-Étienne on Friday came at a cost for Stade Rennais. While that triumph put Habib Beye’s men in 12th, the new Rennes manager will be without two key figures when they host Stade de Reims in a couple of weeks time.

First-choice goalkeeper Brice Samba (30) and Ludovic Blas (27) will be forced out of that encounter through suspension.

Blas leads the Breton club with six assists in the top flight this season, while Samba has posted a clean sheet in his last two matches since Beye took over from Jorge Sampaoli. On Friday, both players received their third yellows in the last 10 Ligue 1 matches for this team, leading to their suspensions.

With back-to-back wins, Rennes are five points clear of AS Saint-Étienne in the relegation play-off battle and six ahead of Le Havre AC, who are in one of the top automatic relegation places.

Reims are just a point below Stade Rennais in 14th and are currently winless in their last 10 Ligue 1 affairs, losing 4-0 at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday.

The next match for Rennes in the French top flight occurs next Sunday when they host Lille OSC at Roazhon Park before welcoming Reims to Brittany on February 21.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre