What can Parkhead fans expect from Rennes tonight?
WHEN Julien Stephan celebrates his anniversary as Rennes head coach on December 3, he will have the opportunity to look back on a year of two halves.
Plunged into the role with a side suffering what appeared to be an interminable downward spiral, he stepped up from his duties as reserve-team boss to lead them immediately to an entirely unexpected victory over Lyon. It was the foundation of a five-match winning streak in the lead up to Christmas that profoundly changed their fortunes.
From there, Rennes won the Coupe de France, defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the final, and earned plaudits for their European performance, which saw them shake the shackles of the stereotypically cautious French approach with a barnstorming victory over Real Betis is Spain before a narrow exit to Arsenal, having defeated the Premier League side at Roazhon Park.
Season 2019-20 is proving to be more testing, however.
Notoriously poor in European group stages – Rennes have won only four of 28 fixtures at such a juncture – they have reverted to type after their thrilling spring displays, while a promising start domestically, including another win over PSG, has given way to mediocrity of late.
Stéphan built enough credit last season to ensure there is no immediate threat to his job, despite the club being only three spots better off than when he took charge, but there is little doubt things are not going quite according to plan.
Dogged by injury worries and already having seen their hopes of European progression extinguished, largely thanks to two incredibly unfortunate defeats against Cluj, the side that has travelled to Glasgow is not at its full strength.
Mbaye Niang, widely recognised as their most dangerous scorer, has been left in France to nurse the problem that has prevented him from reaching his peak this season, while the ongoing absence of industrious central midfielder Jonas Martin is one that will weigh heavy on the team.
Undoubtedly the greatest loss from the team, however, is that of 17-year-old sensation Edouardo Camavinga.
The greatest talent to burst onto the Ligue 1 scene since Kylian Mbappe lit up the league with Monaco in 2016, the Angolaborn central midfielder is a player with the maturity and class of a player a decade his senior.
Following a spectacular start to the current season, in which he has been Rennes’ outstanding figure due to his technical ease and all-round ability, France scrambled to naturalise him and gave him an Under-21 debut against Georgia on November 11, less than a week after his citizenship was confirmed.
A thigh injury sustained during the warm-up for the following encounter against Switzerland last week has, however, kept him out of the trip to Glasgow and deprived Celtic fans of watching one of the world game’s greatest prodigies.
Rennes, who have eight games to play in the space of 24 days, are therefore liable to field something of a fringe side in Glasgow.
Winger Flavien Tait is one to watch, though he is another to have been trouble by physical issues since signing from Angers, where he was one of the French top flight’s most under-rated performers. He only made his return to action after six weeks out with a halfhour cameo at the weekend.
If Stephan and his side take anything from tonight’s fixture, it would be an unexpected bonus. The best anniversary gift that the coach could wish for is, instead, maximum points from the forthcoming league matches against Saint-Etienne and Metz.