Sunderland vs Rennes - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams who could look each different successful the Europa League successful 2026-27 volition wrapper up their pre-season campaigns connected Saturday arsenic Premier League broadside Sunderland invited Rennes of Ligue 1 to the Stadium of Light.

Heading into this match, the Black Cats are riding a two-game winning streak, defeating Lens 2-0 past weekend, portion their upcoming French opponents were beaten 4-2 by Brentford past Saturday.

Match preview

After a magical archetypal play successful the apical flight, expectations volition beryllium precocious for Sunderland, a broadside who volition diagnostic successful Europe this clip around, aiming to physique disconnected a seventh-place decorativeness domestically successful 2025-26.

The fourth-best antiaircraft squad regarding goals conceded (48) successful the past Premier League run person yet to let a azygous extremity successful their 2 pre-season outings this month.

As a manager, Regis Le Bris has ne'er mislaid a competitory crippled versus Rennes, winning each 4 of his Ligue 1 matches against them portion successful complaint of Lorient.

Le Bris knows Stade Rennais well, having antecedently served arsenic an academy manager with the nine years ago, portion helium grew up successful Brittany, specifically successful Pont-L’Abbe, astir a two-and-a-half-hour thrust from Rennes.

With a triumph connected Saturday, Sunderland would extremity the pre-season with a 100% grounds connected English soil, having beaten York City 5-1 successful Huntington successful mid-July.

At the aforesaid time, they tin drawback a three-match pre-season winless tally astatine the Stadium of Light this weekend, with their past specified triumph coming versus Hull City successful July 2021 (2-1).

Like Sunderland, Stade Rennais are coming disconnected a coagulated 2025-26 home campaign, finishing sixth successful the French apical flight.

Franck Haise took this struggling squad retired of mediocrity and dramatically turned astir their fortunes successful the last fewer months of the past Ligue 1 campaign.

The Frenchman has lone coached successful 1 competitory crippled successful England erstwhile his erstwhile team, Lens, were hammered 6-0 by Arsenal astatine the Emirates Stadium successful the 2023-24 Champions League radical stage.

Defensively, Stade Rennais inactive has country for improvement, allowing a combined 7 goals successful their past 2 pre-season friendlies, the aforesaid magnitude they gave up successful their past 3 matches of the 2025-26 Ligue 1 campaign.

A triumph for them connected Saturday would beryllium their archetypal successful the pre-season versus a Premier League squad since defeating Nottingham Forest 5-0 successful August of 2023 successful Burton Upon Trent.

Rennes person won their past 2 pre-season outings aft netting the opening goal, but mislaid their archetypal specified crippled of this pre-season successful that scenario, 2-1 versus Caen.

Sunderland affable form:

Rennes affable form:

Team News

For this last pre-season affair, we are improbable to spot Omar Alderete oregon Nordi Mukiele diagnostic for Sunderland, with Le Bris admitting that some person insignificant knocks, with Romaine Mundle and Simon Adingra besides questionable owed to injuries.

Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor netted past week successful that triumph implicit Lens, with Robin Roefs collecting a cleanable expanse betwixt the sticks.

Charlie Cresswell volition anticipation to marque his archetypal quality of the pre-season, having signed with Rennes from Toulouse successful aboriginal August.

Sebastian Szymanski and Valentin Rongier scored successful their nonaccomplishment past weekend, portion Esteban Lepaul, the apical goalscorer successful Ligue 1 past season, is hoping to adhd to the six goals helium has already successful the pre-season.

Sunderland imaginable starting lineup:

Roefs; Meunier, Ballard, O’Nien, Reinildo; Xhaka, Diarra; Hume, Le Fee, Angulo; Brobbey

Rennes imaginable starting lineup:

Samba; Frankowski, Boudlal, Cresswell, Merlin; Rongier; Al-Taamari, Szymanski, Thomasson, Soumare; Lepaul

We say: Sunderland 1-2 Rennes

Le Bris mightiness beryllium a small wary astir playing aggressively and risking much injuries successful this meaningless game, truthful we expect his broadside to play passively, allowing a potent attacking squad similar Rennes to instrumentality advantage.

For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer delight click here.