Haise returns to Nice with second-placed Rennes, Lepaul a doubt

📰 Franck Haise, sacked by Nice, takes second-placed Rennes back to his old club on 30 October. 📌 Key points 🔙 Haise was sacked by Nice late last year after six straight league defeats. 📈 Rennes are second on 16 points, one behind PSG. 🩹 Seven-goal Esteban Lepaul is a doubt with an ankle injury. 🔥 Nice have won three and drawn one of their last four league games. 🔁 The last six league meetings have been won alternately by each side. 📝 What happened 🔙 According to Sports Mole, Haise was dismissed by Nice towards the end of 2025 after six consecutive Ligue 1 defeats. This is his first trip back to the Allianz Riviera as Rennes coach. ⚡ Rennes won 3-0 at Strasbourg last time out. Per Nice's own match stats, that was their fifth league win by three or more goals under Haise, more than any other side in that period. 🩹 But Lepaul, the club's top scorer with seven league goals, missed that game with an ankle problem and remains doubtful. 🔥 Under Olivier Pantaloni, Nice won 2-1 at Brest thanks to Diop's 83rd-minute winner and climbed to tenth. They have three wins and a draw in their last four league games, after just two wins, 11 draws and 15 defeats in the 28 before that. 📊 By the numbers • Rennes 16 pts (2nd, GD +4), Nice 11 pts (10th) • Lepaul: seven league goals • Rennes' Valentin Rongier: involved in the build-up to six goals, the league's most • Nice's Elye Wahi: two goals and an assist in his last two games 👀 What to watch 🔙 Haise's homecoming — he returns as coach of the second-placed side to the ground he left after six straight defeats. The Nice crowd's reaction will be worth watching. 🩹 Life without Lepaul — if the seven-goal striker misses out, where do Rennes' goals come from? 🔥 Nice's revival — three wins in four and an in-form Wahi will test the Rennes defence. 🔁 Alternating winners — the last six meetings have swung back and forth between the two sides. 🔭 Why it matters A Rennes win would keep the pressure on PSG at the top. For Nice, it is a chance to prove their revival against their former coach. Kick-off is 7pm Paris time on 30 October (6pm UK).