By Tomi Rantanen

Rennes top-scorers injured


Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennais will likely have to cope without their two most prolific goal scorers Ola Toivonen and Paul-Georges Ntep for the next match. Toivonen suffered an injury prior to last Sundays matchup against Nantes and Ntep was suspended. Both are uncertain to start on Friday following the 1-1 draw with Nantes.

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Rennes, who will face Lorient at home this Friday, has scored 14 goals in 12 matches but will now lack players responsible for half of those goals. There are multiple choices up front for Rennes coach Philippe Montanier, but none as proven as the injured duo. It is likely that Ntep is replaced by Brazilian winger Pedro Henrique, and target man Toivonen by another big man Habib Habibu. Let’s take a look how these replacements perform according to AccuScore simulation engine:

Money Line Line Line% ACC% Goals
Rennes 2.03 46.2% 29.7% 0.64
Lorient 3.68 25.5% 28.5% 0.62
Draw 3.30 28.4% 41.8%  


As we can see the simulation predicts extremely low scoring matchup, which increases the chance of a draw drastically. Lorient has its own injury worries, with at least midfielders Sadio Diallo and Mathieu Coutadeur out, and probably looking to start with very defensive mentality. Both clubs are lacking in goal scoring department, but boast excellent goalkeepers in Benoit Costil (Rennes) and Benjamin Lecomte (Lorient). Below is the simulation run with Toivonen and Ntep in Rennes lineup:

Money Line Line Line% ACC% Goals
Rennes 2.03 46.2% 37.6% 0.84
Lorient 3.68 25.5% 25.3% 0.63
Draw 3.30 28.4% 37.1%  


The simulation shows that Toivonen and Ntep are crucial in Rennes’ success, but the club still remains in contest without the duo.

A low scoring draw seems like the most probable outcome with any lineup.

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