After knocking out Betis, Rennes awaits Arsenal at Roazhon Park for the first leg in 1/8 finals of Europa League in hopes to upset the English side and grab themselves a lead prior to heading to England for the 2nd leg on March 14th.

Rennes are coming into the 1/8 finals after sending Real Betis home in an exciting 2nd leg which was won by the French side (1:3) away from home. With the first leg finishing 3:3, Rennes managed to advance with an impressive 4:6 aggregate score, however, their real test will come on March 7th when they welcome Arsenal to their home ground.

As far as Rennes performances go, they have advanced from the Group K with a 3-0-3 record, where they finished ahead of Jablonec, FC Astana and 2 points behind Dynamo Kyiv. In their domestic league, however, Rennes have not been too convincing throughout the season, but have seen some improvement recently. As it stands now, they are 10th in the league with a 10-7-9 record and a 2-1-2 record in their last 5 matches. But looking at their home matches, Rennes have not been defeated at Roazhon Park for 12 straight matches in all competitions. Furthermore, they have been impressive in the Coup de France where they advanced into semi-finals after defeating Brest (2:3), Saint-Pryve (0:2), Lile (1:2) and Orleans (0:2)

With a good form at home ground, Rennes seem to be ready to face off against English giants Arsenal, who won't get to win the EPL this season, so winning the Europa League is their only chance for silverware this season.

Arsenal are coming into this match determined to prove their worth. As of now, Arsenal are 5th in the Premier League and well out of reach for the top spot, however really close to reaching the top 4, which is their main goal this season. Looking at their recent performances in the Premier League, Arsenal are on a 3-1-1 run. They lost to Manchester City (3:1), won against Huddersfield (1:2), Southampton (2:0) and Bournemouth (5:1), but only managed to grab a point from Tottenham (1:1) after a missed penalty in 90'+1.

As for their Europa League campaign, Arsenal cruised through the Group E, where they were paired with Warabag, Vorskla Poltava and Sporting. The English side came out of the group with a 5-1-0 record, only failing to defeat Sporting (0:0). In the 1/16 finals, Arsenal were paired with BATE, who managed to cause some problems for Gunners in the first leg, winning it (1:0), but Arsenal were ready to strike back in the second leg, which they won 3:0.

Arsenal are not fairing well this season as far as they away matches go. In the last 10 in all competitions, Arsenal won only 2, drew 3 and lost the remaining 5. But of course, those are Premier league matches, and today they will face off against 10th team from Ligue 1, which should be an easier opponent for Emery's men. Rennes on the other side have been playing well at home and should put up a good fight against Arsenal. I would not be surprised if Rennes manages to score a goal, and cause Arsenal some problems at home ground. This match should prove to be an exciting and fast-paced one, with at least a goal on each side. The over 2.5 bet offers good odds and taking all into consideration, we will go an over 2.5 prediction for this betting preview.

Prediction: Over 2.50 goals
BetScorum link: https://betscorum.com/en-us/game/8776