Two of Ligue 1’s in-form teams meet on Friday evening, with Saint Etienne hosting Marseille in front of their home supporters. The visitors are looking to extend their unbeaten run in the top-flight, with Rudi Garcia having led his side to second in the standings over recent weeks. However, with the home side having won their last two outings themselves, it promises to be a close encounter at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
French Ligue 1 – Saint Etienne v Marseille, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne – Friday 9th February – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 5/2 at Ladbrokes |
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St Etienne
Match Preview
Saint Etienne and Marseille clash in Ligue 1 on Friday evening, with both sides looking for a win for differing reasons. A win for the home side can move them up to the top half of the table, while the visitors are hoping to consolidate their position behind runaway leaders PSG with a success on the road. With many predicting a close encounter come the end of the week, those still unsure of who to back should check out our top betting tip below. However, let’s first take a closer look at the two teams, starting with the home side.
Saint Etienne Team News & Form
Saint Etienne come into the clash off the back of an impressive 2-0 away win over Amiens, the eighth win of the season for the hosts. Manager Jean-Louis Gasset now finds his side just five point behind Montpellier in sixth position, with the likes of Remy Cabella and Hernani having impressed over recent weeks. Former French international Mathieu Debuchy could make just a second start for the club following his move from Arsenal, with Saint Etienne having conceded 38 goals so far this season.
Marseille Team News & Form
The visitors recorded an entertaining 6-3 win over Metz over the weekend, extending their unbeaten run to five matches. However, with such little separating the teams around them, manager Garcia will be looking for another top performance on the road this week. The likes of Dimitri Payet, Adil Rami, Luiz Gustavo and Florian Thauvin are among the most talented players for the visitors, who have suffered just three league defeats this season. Marseille have a +26 goal difference from their 24 matches so far this season, the third-best in Ligue 1.
Head to Head
The two teams have met 29 times in the past, with Marseille having won 15 of such meetings, as well as registering nine draws. In fact, Marseille have won the last two meetings between the two sides, with an aggregate score of 7-0 from such matches.
Saint Etienne v Marseille – Betting Odds and Predictions
Given their standing in the table, it comes as little surprise that it is Marseille who are the favourites for victory with the majority of bookmakers. Those looking to back Rudi Garcia’s side for the win can take advantage of odds of 10/11 from William Hill, while hosts Saint Etienne are priced at 11/4 with odds from Ladbrokes.
Top Betting Tip Saint Etienne v Marseille
However, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on Marseille to win the match and both teams to score during the 90 minutes, which is available at odds of 13/5 with William Hill.