Ligue 1 Tips: Back Over 2.5 Goals as Rennes enter thrilling new era | OneFootball

French Ligue 1

Ludovic Blas will be a man to watch for Rennes this weekend

Two games on Sunday afternoon offer your best route to profit in France's top flight this weekend, writes James Eastham...

Listen to Football...Only Bettor for Sunday's tips

Rennes v Toulouse - Sun, 16:00

We made a profit backing Rennes' fixture to have Over 2.5 Goals last weekend and are happy to do the same again here.

After their 4-0 defeat at Auxerre last weekend, Rennes sacked their manager Julian Stephan. It was coming - after an ambitious outlay on new players over the summer Rennes followers expected a lot better than the 13th place (W3-D2-L5) that the men in red-and-black currently occupy in the Ligue 1 table.

Interim staff will be in charge this wekeend, but the news broke on Thursday evening that Rennes have identified the man they want to be their new boss. Step forward Jorge Sampaoli, the former Chile, Argentina and Marseille manager, who would surely be a massive hit with the passionate fans in this corner of Brittany.

This exciting prospective appointment ought to galvanise the Rennes players, who know they played their part in Stephan's downfall. This weekend they will feel as though they're auditioning for a main part in the Sampaoli show, and will play with the enthusiasm you'd expect in such circumstances.

At home especially, Rennes rely on attacking firepower to get their wins. They'll pour forward and look to feed their front line, which contains plenty of talented performers, such as Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ludovic Blas, and Albert Gronbaek.

Toulouse are capable of trading attacking blows. Current xG stats show they should have more points on the board than they've currently got (12 points from 10 matches) and they'll have seen how porous the Rennes defence was when Auxerre attacked last weekend.

There are several ways to make goals play. Our top two selections would be backing 'Yes' in the Both teams to Score? market at 1.9 and Over 2.5 Goals at 2.16. We prefer the latter.

In the player markets, look at Kalimuendo at 2/1 to get on the scoresheet. He may have only three goals from nine league appearances so far this season (a rate of a goal every 224 minutes) but there's plenty more to come from him. He'll be the player that Rennes will look to find most frequently in goalscoring positions.

Le Havre v Reims - Sun, 16:00

This selection goes against current form but we're confident Reims can overcome recent difficulties and get something from this trip.

The visitors arrive on a run of three straight defeats that has seen them fall out of the top six: they lost 2-1 at Auxerre (Oct 20), then 2-1 at home to Brest (Oct 26), then 1-0 at Toulouse (Nov 3) last weekend. At first glance, those results mean Reims look short to win, at 2.34.

Those results don't tell the full story, however. Reims were poor against Auxerre, but arguably deserved a draw against Brest, and at least a draw from their trip to Toulouse last weekend. The best thing manager Luka Elsner and his superiors can do right now is stay calm, keep faith with the players, and expect the wheel to turn in their favour.

Man for man, Reims' starting line-up is clearly stronger than Le Havre's. The likes of Japan international wingers Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura have been excellent at times this season, while Reims' Zimbabwe international midfielder Marshall Munetsi is a skilled and powerful performer.

Le Havre won 1-0 at home to bottom club Montpellier last weekend. They did so without playing especially well, however, and needed a penalty to claim all three points. They'd lost their previous six games in a row, and haven't scored a goal in open play since mid-September.

The five-point advantage Reims currently hold over Le Havre in the Ligue 1 standings is a fair reflection of the visitors' superiority, and we'd expect that gap to extend in the weeks ahead. Backing Reims to win is worth considering.

If you have lingering concerns over Reims' form and want the draw on your side, look to the Draw No Bet market. By backing Reims Draw No Bet, you'll win if Reims win, and get your stakes back if the game ends all-square.

Recommended bets

Back Rennes vs Toulouse Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.08Back Reims Draw No Bet at Le Havre @ 4/7

James' 2024-25 P/L

Staked: 24ptsReturned: +24.91ptsP/L: +0.91pts