Tuesday 15/04/2014, 19:00, France Coupe de France, Semifinals, Rennes vs Angers
Rennes vs Angers Betting Preview
Rennes have squandered many opportunities this season and with five rounds to go, they have no chance whatsoever of securing a Europa League placement. The Coupe de France on the other hand is within their reach and they're expected to qualify for the finals with relative ease against second league Angers.
Rennes vs Angers Betting Odds
Rennes 1.50, Draw 4.00 Angers 8.00
Rennes vs Angers Betting Tips
The hosts used to be a top contender in Ligue 1 and only their inability to collect points away from home prevented them from finishing among the four best teams. Since they played and lost the last Coupe de France final to Guingamp in 2009, the squad suffered numerous changes and only a handful of players are still with the club.
The narrow margin defeat to their local rivals is very much alive in their memory and nothing would give them more satisfaction than winning the Cup against the same opponents. This is unlikely to happen, due to the fact that Guingamp faces Monaco in the other semifinal and they are in terrible shape.
Rennes need to take it one step at a time and the top priority is winning the first leg at home, ideally by two goals or more and without conceding. Romain Danze is among the few players who competed in the last Coupe de France final and he brings loads of experience to a completely changed team.
In the other half, we have a squad that lacks experience at this level and is involved in a brutal fight for promotion. Angers is tied with three other teams for the third and final eligible place, but Caen has a game in hand and is by far the most experienced of the four competing squads.
Basically, a single mistake can wipe out all the efforts made by Angers throughout the regular season and they have a difficult match over the weekend. It is pretty obvious for the visiting team that their chances to win the Coupe de France are remote, so they will instead focus on their Ligue 2 campaign.
Key Facts
- With the likes of Ola Toivonen, Jean Makoun and Romain Danze in the starting formation, the hosts are clearly the more experienced team
- The two squads met three times in friendly games and the hosts won twice by 2-0, while one match ended undecided.
Rennes vs Angers Betting Prediction
Rennes' season is on the line and the hosts will be playing with a sense of urgency, knowing that elimination at the hands of Angers will cause an uproar at home. While the odds for a straight win are meek, punters would extract plenty of value by backing the hosts to cover the -1.5 goals spread as 2.40.
Bet: Rennes -1.5 goals @ 2.40 with Pinnacle Sports
