[2026-27 UEFA Europa League] Rennes vs OFI Crete preview and analysis Kick-off: 16 October, 19:00 UTC
Rennes and OFI Crete meet at Roazhon Park on 16 October at 19:00 UTC for the second matchday of the UEFA Europa League league phase. Rennes drew away in their opener and need their first home win, while OFI Crete, fresh from beating Hoffenheim, will look to add to their points haul in France. The teams are meeting for the first time in a competitive match, and the contest could turn on how well Rennes’ corners and OFI Crete’s long balls test the opposition defence.
1. Match overview and team form
Rennes picked up a point with a 0-0 draw away to Sturm Graz. OFI Crete secured three points by beating Hoffenheim 2-0. According to the data centre’s standings as of 14 October, they sit 18th and ninth in the league phase respectively. This will also be Rennes’ first home match in European competition since facing AC Milan in February 2024. Coach Franck Haise said Rennes need to beat OFI Crete to make the point earned in Graz count. OFI Crete have returned to European competition proper for the first time in 26 years and won their opener, so a draw away from home would keep their campaign off to a good start.
Season domestic league record: Rennes, Ligue 1, 6 matches, 4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, 12 goals scored, 10 conceded / OFI Crete, Super League Greece, 6 matches, 3 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses, 8 goals scored, 7 conceded Last 10 competitive matches by venue: Rennes at home, 7 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss, 18 goals scored, 10 conceded / OFI Crete away, 3 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses, 14 goals scored, 18 conceded Europa League league phase, Matchday 1: Rennes 0-0 away to Sturm Graz / OFI Crete 2-0 at home against Hoffenheim
Rennes’ third-place position in Ligue 1 owes more to their home attack than their defence. They have scored 12 goals in six league matches but conceded 10, and their only clean sheet came in a 1-0 win over Marseille. Their most recent match, a 4-1 win over Auxerre, was still 2-1 in the 90th minute. In the 15th minute, Cresswell sent a long pass forward for Lepaul to score the opener. Ten minutes later, Rennes left space behind their defence after the opposition goalkeeper’s long kick and conceded the equaliser. Substitute Dia scored twice in stoppage time to stretch the final margin. Haise said Rennes did not build enough on their good start after taking the lead.
OFI Crete’s recent results also need more context than the final score alone. Against Hoffenheim, they scored twice from 32% possession and eight shots. Goalkeeper Christogeorgos sent a long kick forward, Kodro held the ball up and set up Kantalapiedra for the opener. In the second half, substitutes combined to score from a corner. By contrast, OFI Crete lost 3-0 away to AEK Athens in their previous match, despite naming the same starting XI. They managed four shots and none on target. The first goal came from a corner, and they conceded the other two after Kantalapiedra was sent off in the 66th minute. The key questions are whether they can repeat their defensive work and long-ball link-up from the Hoffenheim win, and whether passes to Kodro will lead to attacks instead of fizzling out as they did against AEK.
The two managers are taking different approaches to team selection. Haise has said Rennes could make a few changes, but will not rotate seven players as they did for the 4-0 defeat away to Lyon. On that occasion, they lost the ball in midfield before conceding, while key forwards who started on the bench came on late. This time, the choices between Reynolds and Sumare, who started against Auxerre, and Blas and Szymanski, who were on the bench, will shape the right side of the attack and the midfield. Rennes can call on their squad apart from Sishuba, who is ineligible for European competition.
Coach Christos Kontis used the same starting XI against Hoffenheim and AEK, and the expected line-up for this match is largely the same. Kantalapiedra is available despite his suspension in the Greek league. Reports say Leya Iseka, Siopis and Marinakis are unlikely to travel because of injuries. They were also absent from the squad against AEK, so their absence is more likely to affect the bench than the starting side. Leya Iseka came on for Kodro in the 80th minute against Hoffenheim, so his absence in particular leaves Kontis with fewer options up front to receive long balls.
The teams have never met in a competitive match. Rennes beat Panathinaikos 3-1 at home in 2023, but the manager and key players were different, making that result a poor guide to this match. Rennes play four days after facing Auxerre, while OFI Crete have five days between their match against AEK and this one. Rennes then face Paris FC and travel to Juventus, so they will need to manage their minutes. OFI Crete have had an extra day to recover, but have travelled from Crete to western France. Rain and strong winds are not forecast around kick-off, so the weather offers no clear advantage to either team.
2. Match-up analysis
Rennes are likely to have more of the ball, with OFI Crete defending in a five-man back line. At home, Rennes have used Altamari and Nagida on the left to deliver crosses, with Lepaul and the other forwards looking to finish in the box. But Rennes had 23 shots against Sturm Graz and failed to score against their five-man defence. Seventeen shots came from inside the box, but only five were on target, and the goalkeeper saved all of them. If OFI Crete’s wide midfielder Dickmann drops back to help the defence, Altamari’s crosses will also have to get past the defenders in the box.
Rennes have another route to goal through corners. They have averaged 6.5 corners per match over their last 10 competitive games. Against Auxerre, the winning goal came after a corner when Thomasson headed in Reynolds’ cross. Against Sturm Graz, Rennes put the ball in the net from a corner, but the goal was ruled out for handball. OFI Crete conceded from both a left-sided and a right-sided corner in their loss to AEK. Even with numbers back, they still have to deal with opponents making runs towards the ball in the air. If Rennes keep winning corners through their wide attacks, they can threaten even when their open-play moves are shut down.
When OFI Crete win the ball, the first duel between Kodro and Rennes centre-backs Cresswell and Rouault will matter. If Kodro can hold up a long ball, as he did before OFI Crete’s opener against Hoffenheim, Kantalapiedra and Pountas can join the attack. Athanasiou is another player who can get forward quickly down the left. If Reynolds plays at right-back and pushes forward, OFI Crete could target the space he leaves behind. Rennes conceded the equaliser against Auxerre from a single long kick by the goalkeeper, showing that this route could trouble them again.
Rennes’ response will depend on how many players they leave in central areas when they lose the ball. If both full-backs have pushed forward and Kodro wins the first duel, the two centre-backs will have to deal with him and the forwards running beyond him. Rongier in the holding midfield role could give Rennes more players to contest the second ball. If the centre-backs deal with the pass to Kodro first and the midfielders cut out the next pass, OFI Crete could struggle to turn clearances into attacks, as they did against AEK. Their win over Hoffenheim and defeat to AEK show how differently the same starting XI can perform in attack depending on whether their long-ball link-up works.
The first goal could change the way both teams approach the match. If Rennes score first, OFI Crete will not be able to catch up by simply staying compact and waiting. Against AEK, Kontis waited until the second half to bring on forward Borja Gonzalez after taking off defender Kostoulas. He could add another attacker again today, but that would give Rennes’ substitutes more room to run in behind. Rennes have conceded in each of their first five matches this season, though, so if their press drops after taking the lead, OFI Crete could still find a way back with a long ball to Kodro or a set piece.
If OFI Crete score first, Rennes will face a tougher task than they did against Sturm Graz. They would need at least two goals against a defence of five. OFI Crete have led at half-time in all three of their European matches this season, scoring seven goals without conceding. Still, squad depth could become a factor in the second half. Rennes have had home matches where substitutes contributed to goals, including Altamari against Marseille and Dia and Blas against Auxerre. OFI Crete are without Leya Iseka, who has come on for Kodro, and have fewer options to change their defence. Taking Kodro off early would weaken their long-ball outlet, while keeping him on means more duels against Rennes’ centre-backs.
3. Verdict and prediction
Rennes are likely to spend longer on the attack, but possession alone will not decide the match. OFI Crete beat Hoffenheim with less of the ball, while Rennes had plenty of possession against Sturm Graz and still failed to score. We still give Rennes the better chance of winning because corners could exploit the route through which OFI Crete conceded in their previous match, and Rennes can bring on fresh attackers in the second half if they take the lead. OFI Crete can respond with long balls to Kodro, but if they fall behind and commit more players forward, Rennes should find more chances of their own.
The market also favours Rennes, with recent heavy scorelines in both teams’ matches appearing to support the chance of another wide margin today. Rennes’ 4-1 win over Auxerre was shaped by two goals in stoppage time, while OFI Crete’s 3-0 defeat to AEK included a goal from a corner and further goals after the red card. Rennes have a chance to score from corners today, but they have also conceded in every match after taking the lead this season. We agree with the likely direction of the result, but expect a narrower margin.
Our score prediction is 3-1 or 2-0 to Rennes, with 3-1 the more likely. Rennes could take the lead from a corner or a turnover high up the pitch, then add another through a substitute as OFI Crete push forward. If Kodro’s long balls get OFI Crete a goal, the score could be 3-1. If Rennes cut out the first pass after going ahead, 2-0 is possible. If Kontis has already fixed OFI Crete’s corner defending since their last match, Rennes will have to score through open play against a five-man defence, which would weaken the main case for this prediction.
