Stade Rennais coach Julien Stéphan and his young player Eduardo Camavinga, here during the match against Montpellier.

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Damien Meyer / AFP

  • Stade Rennais receives its bête noire Reims this Sunday at 5 p.m. at Roazhon Park.

  • The Bretons present themselves as leaders of Ligue 1 against the penultimate of the French championship.

  • Coach Julien Stéphan warns his players against a possible relaxation.

The convincing victory in Saint-Etienne (3-0) already seems so far away.

This Sunday, Stade Rennais will receive its pet peeve at Roazhon Park for a match of extremes between the leader of Ligue 1 and the penultimate.

A week after sweeping the Greens, unbeaten so far, Julien Stéphan's men will face Reims, a team in bad shape but which has beaten them four times in the last two seasons.

After dreaming during the draw for their first Champions League, the players will have to be 100%, warns the red and black coach.

“It's dangerous to listen to too much praise.

I find there is too much praise being done lately.

We are only at the very beginning of the season.

We must remain calm.

There is a danger of falling asleep and doing a little less ”.

Without his left side Faitout Maouassa, injured for "long weeks" and without his new goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, slightly affected, Stade Rennais could retain the leading position during the international break if they win against the Rémois.

But now, for two years, the Champenois martyr the Bretons, at home as in their home.

“Their ranking doesn't mean anything.

He is a very complicated opponent, who has a real block.

Since I've been there, I've never won against Reims, ”slips side Hamari Traoré, who played more than 60 matches in the Stade de Reims jersey before arriving in Brittany in 2017.

"We need to work in the shadows"

To hear him, the Malian international does not intend to sell off this last meeting before his departure for the selection.

“It's our bête noire.

We have to change the trend, have a full match ”.

Is he afraid of seeing his teammates lack application in the face of a wounded beast?

Not a moment.

“What makes us strong is knowing how to work in silence, in humility.

We need to work in the shadows.

We're moving forward game after game, ”said Hamari Traoré.

“We played them just after a European Cup match.

It is not neutral but that does not explain everything.

Reims are a difficult team to maneuver, defending well and relying on a large defensive block.

It's a very, very efficient team.

They have perhaps been a little less successful since the start of the season, ”analyzes Julien Stéphan.

In recent years, the progress of Stade Rennais has been noticed by all, justifying the "praise" evoked by its young coach.

But there is a phenomenon that François Pinault's club has trouble resolving, it is its management of matches against the poorly classified.

Sunday's confrontation has all the trap.

At the end of the match, we will know a little more about the ability of Rennes to win everywhere, all the time.

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