Soccer France Ligue 1 Prediction

AC Ajaccio vs Rennes - Match Preview

⚽ 21 May 2023 - 11:00 GMT +0

After being labelled potential one-season wonders prior to the season, AC Ajaccio proved their pre-season critics right by suffering immediate relegation from Ligue 1 in fitting fashion, after their 5-0 hammering by champions-elect Paris Saint-Germain last time out confirmed their demotion. It’s exactly the kind of fate you’d expect the league’s lowest scorers to suffer, going down without putting up much of a fight after failing to score in their last four matches.

Their goalscoring woes extend even further when the Stade François Coty faithful are subjected to watching their barren Bears, as they have failed to score in their last five home matches. Extending that to six here against Rennes would be their longest dry spell at home in their top-flight history, while also surrendering the chance of registering ten Ligue 1 wins against a single opponent for the very first time.

That’ll be a particularly tough feat to achieve given Rennes' ruthlessness towards Ajaccio’s fellow relegated compatriots recently, as either side of a 2-1 loss to Nice lies a 4-2 victory over Angers and a 4-0 thumping of Troyes. That result also saw Bruno Génésio’s men secure their eighth Ligue 1 clean sheet of the year, which can only be bested by Reims’ total of ten.

That defensive resolve has helped the Rennais remain in the hunt for the European places this season, as they trail fifth-placed Lille by just a point prior to the weekend. They could have been in a much stronger position if it wasn’t for their sub-par away form, though, with three consecutive league losses on the road meaning a measly 17 of their 59 points this season have come on their travels.

📋 Players to watch: Ajaccio’s Mounaïm El Idrissy has scored eight of his last ten goals after half-time, including his strike in a 2-1 loss in the reverse fixture. Rennes match winner that day was Arthur Theate, who had started all but one of the games they kept a clean sheet in so far this year.

⚡ Hot stat: Ajaccio have conceded their first 28 times in league action this season, the highest tally in Europe’s top-five leagues.