Celtic will make a trip to Roazhon Park to lock horns with Rennes on Thursday, 18th of September for their first group game of the season in the UEFA Champions League.
It will be a meeting of familiar foes considering that the two sides just met as soon as July in a friendly game. However, the game ended in a stalemate as none of the teams was able to prevail.
Both sides have met a total of four times in the last 10 years, the most recent of which was in a July friendly. The Hoops remain undefeated in their duel having come out victorious in two of those games and a draw ensuing in the two others.
Celtic and Rennes locked horns in the same stage of the competition in 2011. The game in France ended in a draw before Celtic won the return game in Scotland by a 3-1 scoreline.
Only one of the games featured over 2.5 goals while two of them witnessed goals at both ends. Rennes began their Ligue 1 campaign on a good run of form, winning their first three games including their match against French champions Paris Saint Germain. However, they haven’t won any of their last two games.
They lost at home to Nice before drawing against Brest. Rennes have been decent at the defensive line with none of their opponents in their last 10 games having scored more than two goals.
Celtic are on a run of five consecutive victories and remain undefeated in their last 10 games. Their last defeat came in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League when they fell at the feet of Romanian side CFR Cluj.
Just like their opponents in Rennes, the Hoops have seen over 2.5 goals in their last five outings.
Possible Starting Line-Ups
RENNES
Salin; Traore, Da Silva, Gelin, Morel, Maouassa; Bourigeaud, Camavinga, Lea Siliki; Hunou, Raphinha
Unavailable: Nyamsi (Injured), Guclu (Injured)
Doubtful: Niang (Injured).
CELTIC
Forster; Elhamed, Ajer, Jullien, Bolingoli Mbombo; Brown, Ntcham; Hayes, Rogic, Elyounoussi; Edouard
Unavailable: Bain (Injured), Simunovic (Injured), Bitton (Injured), Eboue (Injured), Shved (Injured), Johnston (Injured), Arzani (Injured), Sinclair (Out of favour)
Doubtful: Taylor (Injured).
Prediction
Rennes 1-2 Celtic
Rennes is available at 2.19 to claim a home win over Celtic, while the Hoops are priced at 3.52 to win the match.
Written by: Roland Arum
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