Rennes vs Auxerre: Auxerre missing seven, unbeaten on their last two visits to Roazhon Park

On 19 September, Rennes conceded four goals at Lyon without scoring one. Two weeks later they lost a friendly at Laval (0-1), and Franck Haise came out of it annoyed with the first half: some players, he warned, have a lot at stake against Auxerre. Sunday’s visitors temper any optimism: Auxerre have not lost on their last two visits to Roazhon Park, a 2-2 in October 2025 and a 1-0 win in April 2025.

Three straight wins, all of them at home

The table has Rennes fifth and Auxerre eleventh; recent form closes the gap. Will Still has turned round a team that opened with three defeats: Auxerre have won their last three games, Nice and Brest in Ligue 1, Clermont in a friendly, all three at home. Their two league trips, to Lens and to Lyon, both ended in defeat. The same Lyon who had beaten Auxerre 3-1 on 4 September put four goals past Rennes on the 19th. Rennes, for their part, have not scored since the 1-0 against Marseille: three games without a goal, in any competition.

Seven Auxerre absentees, Lepaul back for Rennes

The absentee list has grown: Auxerre travel without seven players.

• Makosso, suspended on an accumulation of yellow cards;
• Dioussé, knee ligaments torn in mid-August;
• Okoh, same joint, out since May;
• Senaya and Siwe, hamstring injuries, both hoped back around 20 October;
• Fofana (groin) and Mandengue (adductors), the two latest casualties.

The two-man midfield of the previews becomes a three: Ahamada joins Danois and Piedfort, and without Dioussé or Fofana, Auxerre’s first line of buildup changes hands again; I expect Rennes to press high on that shortened relay. At the other end, Franck Haise starts Lepaul, doubtful all week and finally available, with Tamari and Soumaré either side of him; Djaoui Cissé, bothered by a groin strain, starts on the bench.

What the price says: 1.48, and nothing to take

Rennes are priced at 1.48 with 1xbet, the draw at 5.14, Auxerre at 7.00 with Bet365, and those odds have not moved since they opened on Wednesday. Two more Auxerre names have joined the list since, and the price has stayed put: it had already counted the injuries. At 1.48, the bet breaks even if Rennes win 67.6% of the time. I make it 67%: the market has done its arithmetic.

The bet: Rennes to win, minimum stake

I take Rennes to win at 1.48 with 1xbet: a Rennes win pays +$12 on a $25 stake; a draw or an Auxerre win loses the $25. The stake is minimal, a quarter of a unit: at 67% against 67.6%, I have no edge on this price and I am not loading a well-set favourite. The sizing follows the Kelly calculator, and this pick will sit in the public record whatever happens. 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.

Lepaul opens from range, Dia closes it: Rennes are scoring again

Final score: Rennes 4-1 Auxerre, after a level first half (1-1). Lepaul put Rennes ahead on 15 minutes with a first-time strike off his right foot from the edge of the box: his 34th Ligue 1 goal, and the first he has scored there from range. Archer levelled on 25 minutes, sent through by his own goalkeeper. Thomasson swung the match on 53 minutes with a header at the back post, and Dia settled it twice in stoppage time (90+2, 90+4), the first set up by Blas. Three games without a goal belonged to last week: 21 shots, 11 on target, 58% of possession. The third away trip of the Auxerre season ended like the first two, at Lens and at Lyon: a defeat. Rennes climb on to the podium, thirteen points.

The bet ran to its script: Rennes to win at 1.48 with 1xbet, a minimum stake of a quarter of a unit, +$12 on the $25 staked. I had no edge on the price, the piece said so, and the minimum stake has done its job: twelve net dollars go to the public record.