Stade Rennais FC - Stade Brestois 29 Sunday at 17 :00 CET (1600 GMT)

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Rennes return to action after their early Coupe de France exit afforded them a weekend off, and they will be itching to get back on the field and relaunch their bid for European qualification via the league.

Bruno Genesio’s side suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat away at Clermont Foot 63 in their last outing a fortnight ago, despite Baptiste Santamaria giving them the lead in central France. That was their fifth defeat in their last seven Ligue 1 Uber Eats outings, with their bizarre run of form seeing them record two enormous wins – 5-0 against AS Saint-Etienne and 6-0 against Girondins de Bordeaux – in that time.

Rennes ended the last round of games down in fifth place and came into the weekend six points adrift of Olympique de Marseille in third, a gap that may only increase if they do not start winning games again soon.

Still alive in the UEFA Europa Conference League, they opted not to make any new additions in the January transfer window after a big spending spree last summer, with Genesio preferring to focus on the welcome return of a number of players from the Africa Cup of Nations. Moroccan centre-back Nayef Aguerd, Mali full-back Hamari Traoré and Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemena are all available for their clubs again after being eliminated from the tournament in Cameroon.

Highlights: Rennes suffer surprise loss at Clermont

“We have no intention of giving in to temptation,” Genesio said just before the window closed without any new arrivals at Roazhon Park. “The return of the players who were at the AFCON will effectively be our January transfer window.”

Of his team’s patchy recent form, he added: “A month and a half ago, everyone was praising our squad and the way we were playing. Sometimes maybe you can get a bit complacent, you lose some confidence and then you get some negative results. It is up to us to get back on track. We are lucky to still be on course to fulfil our objectives which is not far short of a miracle given we have had eight defeats.”

Busy window

In contrast to Rennes, Brest head east after a busy January window. They lost star man Romain Faivre, sold to Olympique Lyonnais for €15 million plus bonuses. He will be an enormous loss, but new players have arrived at the Stade Francis-Le Blé. Young forward Martin Satriano joined on loan from Italian champions Inter, while there is huge excitement about the recruitment of Belaïli.

The 29-year-old Algerian international has signed as a free agent after a spell in Qatar, and is available right away after his country’s early exit from the Cup of Nations.

“We knew Youcef from all he has done with his national team. He was a priority for us. We managed to remain discreet, his name didn’t come out and we managed to get it done in the background,” said Brest sporting director Grégory Lorenzi.

Highlights: Brest beat the reigning champions

Belaïli had an unsuccessful spell in France before, playing just one game in the Coupe de la Ligue for Angers SCO in 2017, but he is a superstar in his home country and boasts some three million Instagram followers. “I decided to come to Europe to progress as a player. As for pressure, I am used to it,” he said at his unveiling.

Brest coach Michel Der Zakarian, who is without suspended midfielder Lucien Agoumé here, will be hoping for a big improvement from his team after they lost 2-0 at FC Nantes in the Coupe de France last time out.

“We played as if it were a friendly in the first half and the second half was not much better,” said Der Zakarian, whose side did at least beat LOSC Lille 2-0 in their last league outing to cement their place in mid-table.

Probable teams

Rennes: Alemdar; Traoré, Omari, Aguerd, Meling; Bourigeaud, Martin, Santamaria, Sulemana; Laborde, Terrier

Brest: Bizot; Pierre-Gabriel, Chardonnet, Hérelle, Duverne; Del Castillo, Belkebla, Magnetti, Honorat; Le Douaron, Mounié