'Leicester Fans Should Be Under No Illusions About Rennes' Quality'
- Leicester City faces Rennes in the UEFA Europa Conference League Round of 16
- The first leg takes place on Filbert Way on Thursday (8pm kick-off)
- French Football Expert Ian Holyman has provided the lowdown on Bruno Génésio's side
- The Foxes faithful can tune into live coverage of the tie on LCFC Radio
Under Bruno Génésio, Les Rouge et Noir currently sit fourth in France's top tier after an extensive summer of recruitment at the season's outset. A 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in October offered a glimpse of their potential and they continue to challenge for UEFA Champions League qualification.
They currently sit one point away from a third-place finish which would achieve that objective, while the Brittany club also remain unbeaten in European competition so far this term – after facing Rosenborg, Tottenham Hotspur, Vitesse and Mura. They have won their last three games in Ligue 1 too.
Les Rennais first visit Filbert Way on Thursday (8pm kick-off) before hosting the Foxes in France seven days later. Speaking to LCFC Radio's Matchday Live programme, which will be broadcast throughout the evening on matchday, Holyman offered an insight into their talents.
"In short, the players can expect a very tough game, and for the fans, a very exciting game," he said. "Rennes are second top scorers in France. The only squad with more goals are the ones who have Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar, which says a lot. Rennes are just a couple of goals behind them.
"They’ve been fabulous this season. They’re very, very good. At times, they’re a little inconsistent, which you might expect with a lot of new players coming in over the summer. No team spent more money than Rennes last summer, except Paris Saint-Germain. It’s certainly paid off in every respect.
"Bruno Génésio – who had a bit of a mixed reputation at Lyon, but I thought did really well – he came in about a year ago when it looked like they would be missing out on European competition.
"He got them into European competition and this season it looks very likely that he could get them into the Champions League, which means finishing in the top three in Ligue 1."
In the later decades of the 20th century, Rennes were hit by financial problems and took the decision to proactively work towards producing talents with high transfer appeal. The likes of Sylvain Wiltord, Mikaël Silvestre, Petr Čech, Hatem Ben Arfa, Édouard Mendy and Raphinha are just a few.
A new generation is currently delighting fans at Roazhon Park and are set to pose considerable problems for Leicester, Holyman says.
"They’ve got quality right through the team," he explained. "Édouard Mendy, the Chelsea goalkeeper, was at Rennes. He went to Chelsea and they’ve brought in another guy, Alfred Gomis. He’s the Senegal no.2. They had Petr Čech in goal before he went to Chelsea too.
"They know what they’re doing. Defensively as well, there’s only the top two, PSG and Nice, who have conceded fewer in Ligue 1 this season. They’ve got a goal threat throughout the side. Look out for set pieces. The Moroccan centre-back Nayef Aguerd is a real menace at set pieces.
"They’ve got goals from midfield as well and they’ve got immense amount of creativity from the Croatian international Lovro Majer. He’s a left-footed midfielder, the guy’s good on the ball, that’s all I’ll say. Up front, they’ve got a partnership that is working really well.
"Gaëtan Laborde's got 16 goals in all competitions this season, five of them in the Europa Conference League group stage, and he's teamed up really well with Martin Terrier. They’re two very intelligent footballers who really work well together and have a real team ethic.
"They’re not just about goals for themselves, they’re teeing up goals for others as well. Their full-backs like to push on as well. Hamari Traoré, their captain at right-back, he can provide a lot of assists from out wide and get it forwards. It's going to be a fabulous pairing actually.
"I'm certainly looking forward to it, but Leicester fans should be under no illusions about the quality in this team."
A trip to Groupama Stadium to face Lyon sits between Rennes' two legs against City, pitting them against a side who sit just five points beneath them in the race for European qualification in France. Holyman believes this could work in Leicester's advantage but highlighted the task they'll face in France.
"Leicester have got two things going for them ahead of the first leg," he added. "One is that Rennes’ away form this season has not been great.
"They lost five in a row in all competitions before they won at Montpellier, which I have to say is not an easy place to do to. Rennes, in between the two legs, have got a tough away game at Lyon as well on Sunday. They may well have one eye on that with a view to next season.
"Lyon are in around those European places as well, so that may be to Leicester’s advantage. The second leg is a very, very different story. Rennes are extremely strong at home. They do have fabulous backing. It will be a great spectacle, particularly before kick-off, check out the tifo behind the goal.
"They’ll make a lot of noise. Spurs went there earlier in the season and were fortunate to get the draw. Arsenal went there a couple of years ago in the Europa League and were beaten, but won at home to go through. Leicester do need a very good result to be able to go to France with a degree of confidence."
Tickets for the first leg round of 16 knockout clash with Rennes are now on general sale. To buy, click HERE.
All times GMT.