OUR man in France is Julien Laurens and he's looking at Bordeaux v Rennes.
Julien is a London-based sports correspondent for Le Parisien and a veritable French football expert. He writes in French and English for a number of esteemed publications and is a regular on BT Sport as well as contributing to Unibet.
Bordeaux v Rennes (Sat 4pm)
These sides are both in the race for fifth place, so it is a big game for them both. Bordeaux are currently ninth, five points behind Rennes in sixth and six behind Nantes in fifth.
Bordeaux did well after new manager Gus Poyet was appointed in January but they now have not won any of their last four league matches, only scoring once. Their best player, Malcom, got a suspension and has not been playing well lately.
Poyet is staying optimistic but Bordeaux need to get back to winning ways quickly. However, they usually do very well against Rennes at home. Their last defeat against them was back in 2006.
Rennes, on the other hand, are making good progress under new manager Sabri Lamouchi. Their form has been good of late: three wins and two draws in their last five league matches.
They are solid defensively and Diafra Sakho has been a very good addition to the squad. The manager has pretty much all his squad available, as only left-back Ludovic Baal is out. The momentum is with Rennes and so is the confidence and I think Rennes will get an away win.
Julien's Tips
- Bordeaux 1, Rennes 2 (11-1, Unibet)
- Sakho to score first (13-2, Unibet)
- Rennes win and btts (13-2, Unibet)
