Antonetti has already decided on his best eleven

The 2011-2012 Stade Rennes is shaping up. Before travelling to Dijon on Sunday, the “best players of the moment” will be on the pitch this Thursday at the Route de Lorient, for the second leg of the Europa League third qualifying round. “This is not the right time to have rotations in the squad. The lads need to play together and improve”, Frédéric Antonetti explained during the press conference this Wednesday.

Fabien Lemoine left out of the squad

After the clear victory in the first leg against Rustavi (5-2), the coach wants to play with his best eleven. “The guys are still full of fitness and energy”. So there is no reason to bring in new players or try different tactics. Fabien Lemoine, suspended for the first two Ligue 1 games, is one of the high-profile victims of this option, he hasn’t been called. “This is a sportive choice”, his manager commented. Same thing for Verhoek. Stéphane Dalmat, left out last week, returns in the squad.

An important game for the strikers

The game should allow the coach to fine tune some of the team settings necessary to a good start of the league season. “There are many things we can improve on, the Breton coach insists. We have to focus on the match. In this way, we focus on qualifying.” The list of objectives is long : « Avoid giving out chances, keep the ball well with accelerations, not lose as many balls as in the first leg, play a second 90 minutes game in order to improve the fitness ".

Another important aspect to work on according to the manager: attacking efficiency. Before the arrival of a new striker, Razak Boukari and Victor Hugo Montaño in particular will have to impress and score. Something Kader Mangane also realised: « For the forwards, it‘s time to shine. They won’t have the opportunity to build-up confidence with such a match every day".

Nicolas Auffray - Le Mensuel de Rennes

- Photo: www.rennes.lemensuel.com