Stade Rennais FC's Europa League match against Olympiakos has been officially moved forward by one day. Originally scheduled for Thursday, 5 November at 18:45, it will now be played on Wednesday, 4 November at 16:30 at Roazhon Park, the club confirmed on Tuesday, 27 October.

UEFA made the decision after being "informed by the French authorities that they are not able to guarantee the required security conditions for the match (...) due to strikes and protests announced in France for that same day". This change, for the fourth matchday of the group stage, is directly linked to anticipated social unrest on Thursday. It is the second calendar shift for Stade Rennais FC recently, following the postponement of their Ligue 1 fixture from 31 October to 30 October.

In an attempt to fill the stands despite the awkward midweek kick-off time, Stade Rennais FC has implemented a specific ticketing policy aimed at youth and amateur clubs. The team will face Olympiakos at a key stage of the European competition, while their domestic schedule is already packed.

This announcement comes as the squad prepares for its trip to Nice this Friday, 30 October, a key match to try and reverse a tricky run of form. The Stade Rennais FC side, which just beat Strasbourg 3-0 on 25 October thanks to a Sebastian Szymański brace and a goal from Boulaye Dia, has shown inconsistent results with just one win in its last five matches across all competitions. Their recent form reads zero wins, one draw and four defeats, including a 2-2 draw at Juventus on 22 October and a 4-3 loss at Paris FC on 18 October. The absence of this season's top scorer, E. Lepaul, currently sidelined with seven goals in seven appearances, is being keenly felt.

After the match against Nice, the Rouge et Noir will follow up with this rescheduled European encounter before returning to league action. The 3-0 victory over Strasbourg, where Szymański scored in the 41st and 61st minutes and Dia in the 34th, brought some relief, but the Greek challenge now looms in a disrupted logistical context.

More detail at actu.fr