Now separated by five points in the bottom half of the Ligue 1 table, Le Havre and Rennes will do battle at the Stade Oceane on Sunday.

The hosts have moved out of the relegation zone with crucial back-to-back wins, while their visitors sit 12th following a defeat last time out.

Match preview

Le Havre return to the Stade Oceane on Sunday aiming to give their Ligue 1 survival hopes another major boost with a third straight league victory.

A 4-2 away defeat to Lyon left Le Club Doyen in the automatic relegation zone on 21 points from 26 outings heading into the March international break, having won just six of those games and lost 17, conceding 55 goals along the way.

Didier Digard's side have bounced back on their return, though, firstly leaping out of the bottom two with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Nantes, as Timothee Pembele restored their lead in the 88th minute after Abdoulaye Toure twice had them ahead with his brace.

A trip to basement side Montpellier then followed last Sunday, and they made it back-to-back three-point hauls as Yassine Kechta and Toure netted first-half goals in a 2-0 triumph.

Now sitting 15th thanks to those results, albeit only one point above the relegation playoff place and four above the bottom two with six games remaining, Le Havre will aim to make it three wins on the bounce and continue their climb towards guaranteed safety at the weekend.

Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip at the weekend in search of a return to winning ways, having seen their own improvement slowed in recent weeks.

Following a 10th-placed finish last time around, Rennes endured a poor first half to the campaign, sitting in the relegation playoff place after 20 matches, but an improved run under the new management of Habib Beye saw them move all but clear of the threat of the drop.

Indeed, Les Rennais won four of their first five games under the new boss between early February and early March, but they have since suffered three defeats in their last four outings, all but falling out of reach of the top half as a result, as they firstly fell short against Paris Saint-Germain and Lens before the international break.

Beye's men did bounce back to winning ways on their return to action, beating Angers 3-0 thanks to Arnaud Kalimuendo's brace and Ismael Kone's goal, only to fall to a 16th league defeat of the season last weekend as Auxerre visited Roazhon Park and snatched all three points with Jubal netting the only goal in the 89th minute.

Now finding themselves 12th with six games remaining, six points above the bottom three and six outside of the top 10, Rennes will bid to get back to winning ways and begin a stronger end to a disappointing Ligue 1 campaign.

Team News

Le Havre should be unchanged from their victory at the weekend, with Yann Kitala and Andy Logbo remaining sidelined by injuries.

Yassine Kechta will continue in the middle of a supporting trio behind a lone striker, with Antoine Joujou and Josue Casimir likely to keep their places on the wings.

Koka will hope to again lead the line ahead of those, despite competition from Andre Ayew, while Junior Mwanga will continue in the engine room alongside key man Abdoulaye Toure, who leads the squad with eight goals this season.

Rennes will remain without Ludovic Blas, Alidu Seidu, Mikayil Faye and Andres Gomez on Sunday due to ongoing injury issues.

Kyogo Furuhashi will hope to displace Mohamed Kader Meite and lead the line, while Arnaud Kalimuendo will continue to play a key role in the attacking having netted a team-high tally of 16 goals this season.

Azor Matusiwa and Jordan James will also hope to come in from the outset, after Seko Fofana and Djaoui Cisse lined up in midfield against Auxerre last time out, while Hans Hateboer, Anthony Rouault and Lilian Brassier should again form a back three.

Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Gorgelin; Nego, Sangante, Lloris, Pembele; Toure, Mwanga; Casimir, Kechta, Joujou; Koka

Rennes possible starting lineup:
Samba; Hateboer, Rouault, Brassier; Assignon, Matusiwa, Fofana, Truffert; Kalimuendo, Furuhashi, Olaigbe

We say: Le Havre 1-1 Rennes

The hosts are buoyed by back-to-back wins in their survival bid, while their visitors have seen their momentum slowed after their boost under new management.

Although Rennes certainly boast more quality in their ranks, we back Le Havre to take a share of the spoils with home advantage.


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