Arsenal vs Rennes Predictions

Arsenal were stunned in France last week as a surprisingly forward thinking Rennes side put them to the sword in the first leg of this tie, beating them 3-1 to put themselves in a fine position for an unexpected qualification in the Europa League.

The Gunners did manage to bounce back on Sunday with an excellent 2-0 win over a Manchester United side who hadn’t lost in the Premier League since December, but overturning this hefty two goal deficit could prove a step too far for Unai Emery’s men.

That being said, Arsenal are in decent form at the moment having won four of their last six games. Things look even better for them at the Emirates too, where they have won each of the five matches since a 3-1 loss to Manchester United sent them crashing out of the FA Cup. This season they have won an impressive 18 home games, drawing three times and losing three.

One thing they haven’t been able to get a grip of is their defensive frailty though. They have only kept a clean sheet in nine of these 24 outings, and they’re facing a Rennes side who know how to find the back of the net.

The French side showed that in their 3-1 win over Arsenal last weekend, and they have only failed to score in one of their last 12 competitive matches. This impressive record doesn’t show any signs of decline when they’re on their travels either, with 17 of their 19 competitive away games seeing them score at least once.

Defensively Rennes do struggle on the road though, as is evident by them keeping just four clean sheets away from home this season. Arsenal, meanwhile, have only failed to score in three of their home games this season, and with them needing to come out on Thursday with an attack minded spirit, we think this could be an entertaining match up.

All things considered, backing Both Teams to Score on Thursday looks a great value option, and we’re going for that along with a 2-1 win for Arsenal that would see them dumped out of the Europa League.