This Saturday, March 8, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Rennes (11th) at Roazhon Park (kick-off 5pm, UTC+1) as part of Matchday 25 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. And as before every match, here’s a presentation of the Parisians’ opponents.
The Rennes situation –
Just when it seemed that Rennes was on the road to success, with European qualification secured at the end of the 2022-2023 season, there was fresh turbulence.
The 2023-2024 resumption was complicated by the upheavals at the mercato, which ended up pushing Bruno Génésio towards the exit. Julien Stéphan, already with Rennes before his move to Strasbourg in 2021, returned on November 20.
This did not solve all the problems, far from it. Finally, at the end of January, another coach arrived at Rennes: Habib Beye, who had recently made a name for himself with Red Star after having been a defender and sports consultant.
The 2024 summer mercato –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
The winter mercato 2024/2025 –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
Key statistics –
This season, Rennes is among the 9th best attackers in the league with 34 goals scored (the leader, PSG, is 66, and the last, Montpellier, is 32), and is among the 9th best defenders with 32 goals conceded (PSG has the best defense with 23 goals conceded, the last, Montpellier, is 58).
Rennes’ top scorer is Arnaud Kalimuendo (23-year-old striker), with 11 goals he is 16th in the league (Ligue 1’s top scorer is Ousmane Dembélé with 18 goals). Ludovic Blas (27-year-old midfielder) is Rennes’ top passer with 6 assists and is 8th in Ligue 1 (Rayan Cherki is first with 9 assists).
Rennes’ last 5 matches –
Only Rennes possession is shown and Rennes shots are put first (when data is available).
02/02/2025 (Ligue 1) – Rennes/Strasbourg: 1-0. 3-4-3 formation. 45% possession. 13 shots including 3 on target vs. 7 shots (3 on target).
08/02/2025 (Ligue 1) – Saint-Etienne/Rennes : 0-2. 3-4-3 formation. 46% possession. 21 shots, including 9 on target, against 9 shots (3 on target).
16/02/2025 (Ligue 1) – Rennes (down to 10 at the 74th minute, 0-0)/Lille : 0-2. 3-4-3 formation. 37% possession. 4 shots (0 on target) against 18 shots (7 on target).
02/21/2025 (Ligue 1) – Rennes/Reims (10 men): 1-0. 3-5-2 formation. 59% possession. 26 shots, including 5 on target, against 3 shots (0 on target).
02/03/2025 (Ligue 1) – Montpellier/Rennes: 0-4. In 3-5-2. 40% possession. 15 shots including 9 on target vs. 16 shots (5 on target).
Squad and possible line-up:
Absents – Gomez (blessure), Cissé (suspension), Faye (choix).
Blas – Kalimuendo
Truffert – Fofana – Koné – James – Assignon
Brassier – Rouault – Jacquet
Samba
Rennes’ style of play.
When Beye arrived at Rennes, he turned things upside down. In particular, with a 3-man defence and the idea of playing aggressively to create as many chances as possible. This meant taking risks and relying on offside, in particular, to manage the space at the back of defenders. It remains to be seen whether he will continue in the same vein as PSG, or whether the approach will be more cautious.
