Nice vs Rennes preview - Rennes won't take Nice for granted

Rennes boss Philippe Montanier feels his side face a tough task when they travel to strugglers Nice on Wednesday, despite the contrasting form of both teams.

While Rennes have surged up to sixth in Ligue 1 and progressed in the Coupe de France at Marseille's expense during an eight-match unbeaten run, Nice have slumped to 11th without a victory in their last five outings.

But it is Nice's poor results that have put Montanier on alert, with the former Real Sociedad manager well aware Les Aiglons will be fired up to put things right in front of their home fans at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday.

"It will be complicated because Nice need points. It is another challenge," he said on Rennes' official website.

"We want to continue the series. The players are aware that there have been no easy games so far. We must maintain a level of requirement at all times. If we do not, we will pay."

He also pointed out that Claude Puel's men were unfortunate to lose 1-0 at second-placed Paris St Germain at the weekend and believes they are capable of beating anyone on their day.

"They only lost 1-0 against Evian and PSG and were not far from getting a draw in Paris," Montanier added. "This is a team that is not easy to identify because they can sometimes be very bright, as at Guingamp (when they won 7-2), while sometimes they are struggling to achieve."

Nice left-back Jordan Amavi echoed Montanier's opinion of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at PSG, which was settled by a Zlatan Ibrahimovic spot kick, and underlined that he and his team-mates are determined to get back to winning ways.

"We deserved to leave the Parc des Princes with at least one point. I think there was room. Especially when they score a penalty," he said on Nice's official website.

Amavi highlighted that going forward Nice need to start being more clinical in front of goal, starting against Rennes - who may miss the presence of suspended midfielder Gelson Fernandes in front of the defence.

"We need to succeed in achieving our opportunities. It does not make bad games, but it lacks a purpose, a gesture, to move from a rather dull match for good service," Amavi added. "I hope this will be the case on Wednesday. With the return of our supporters, we will do everything to compete with this great team of Rennes."