Action in the French Ligue 1 continues on Friday, with giants PSG taking on St Etienne at the Parc des Princes in the fourth round of the season.
French Ligue 1 – Parc des Princes, Paris – Friday 25th August – 19:45 Time (UK)
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Draw Best Odd of: 17/2 at Betfred |
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Paris Saint Germain
St EtienneParis SG Team News, Updates, and Facts
Having finished as runners up to champions Monaco last season, PSG have started the new campaign in fine form, winning their opening three Ligue 1 encounters, scoring 11 goals in the process. Much of the talk around the club surrounded the arrival of Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr, who scored two goals on his home debut against Toulouse on Sunday evening.
However, with the attacking talents of Edison Cavani, Angel di Maria and Javier Pastore, PSG are going to be difficult to beat in all competitions this season. Manager Unai Emery came under severe criticism last season, however the Spaniard has seemingly found his feet in the French capital.
PSG will be without Blaise Matuidi against St Etienne, with the French international having now completed his move to Juventus, while Dani Alves will keep his place at right back, meaning that Thomas Meunier will once again have to settle for a place on the bench.
St Etienne Team News, Updates, and Facts
Despite all of the talk surrounding both PSG and Monaco, St Etienne are the only other team to win their opening three Ligue 1 fixtures, with Oscar Garcia’s men having defeated Nice, Caen and Amiens in recent weeks. St Etienne are also the only team now to have conceded a single goal in the top-flight so far, however this will certainly be put to the test against PSG on Friday. Both Jonathan Bamba and Bryan Dabo have two goals to their names already this season, with the likes of Loic Perrin and Cheikh M’Bengue adding vital experience to their playing squad.
Head to Head
PSG and St Etienne have met on 32 occasions in the past, with PSG having come out on top 17 times. Despite St Etienne earning a valuable point at the Parc des Princes last season, they were handed a 5-0 thrashing by Emery’s men in front of their home supporters. In fact, you have to look all the way back to 2012 to find a St Etienne win in Ligue 1, when they defeated PSG 2-1 in Paris.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Taking this all into account, there are a whole host of betting markets that are worth taking advantage of ahead of kick-off on Friday. Given the arrival of Neymar Jr, along with PSG’s start to the season, many are backing a comfortable victory for the home side. While simply backing a PSG win will not bring about any significant winnings, with Ladbrokes offering odds of 1/10 for this market, betting on the home side winning both the first and second halves is more appealing. The same bookmakers offer odds of 4/11 for this option.
Elsewhere, for those backing St Etienne to continue their winning streak at the Parc des Princes, William Hill offer Oscar Garcia’s men odds of 22/1. Meanwhile, with neither side having drawn or lost any encounter this season, you can back PSG or Etienne to win at odds of 3/40 at Ladbrokes.
Top Betting Tip
Despite these attracting odds and predictions, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on there being over 2.5 goals, which can be backed at odds of 1/4 at Ladbrokes.