The French Lihue 1 action gets underway on Friday night this weekend as St Etienne welcome Montpellier to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. St Etienne have won Ligue 1 ten times in their history but with the current spending power of teams like Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, it is unlikely they are going to challenge again at the top of the table any time soon. However, that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for and a Champions League qualifying position would certainly help their progress and will be something they are hoping to achieve this season.
France Ligue 1 – Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne – Friday 20th October – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 2 at Ladbrokes |
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St Etienne
MontpellierSt Etienne Form
St Etienne start the season in excellent form, winning all 3 of their Ligue 1 games prior to the visit to play Paris Saint-Germain. Not many teams are going to have much luck playing in the capital this season and St Etienne went down to a 3-0 defeat. It did not take long for them to recover and although they dropped points at home in a 1-1 draw with Angers, their next away trip saw a 1-0 win over Dijon and got St Etienne back to winning ways.
However, there was then a stutter as St Etienne were held at home in a 2-2 draw by Rennes before going down 2-1 at Troyes. On the weekend, St Etienne picked up their fifth win of the season thanks to a 3-1 home victory over Metz. St Etienne have been scoring plenty of goals in recent games but have kept just one clean sheet in their last 6 Ligue 1 outings.
Montpellier Form
Montpellier start this match in 11th place in Ligue 1 on 12 points from their 9 matches played. They have been inconsistent and this is backed up with their record of 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats. However, they are unbeaten in their last 4 Ligue 1 games and a win in this match would see them close the gap on St Etienne to just 2 points.
Montpellier have picked up 2 wins and 2 draws from their last 4 league games, including a solid 0-0 draw at home with the free-scoring Paris Saint-Germain. The other draw was 1-1 in Monaco, another good result and the wins have come at Troyes and at home against Nice on the weekend. Montpellier have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 games and only once have they conceded more than 1 goal in a match this season.
Team News
The home team will have to make do without the injured defensive duo of Loic Perin and Florentin Pogba. Brazilian midfielder Hernani is suspended. Montpellier have no injury or suspension concerns and should be at full strength.
Top Betting Tips
St Etienne have been scoring plenty of goals at home this season and remain undefeated, so will look on this game as one they can win. Montpellier have won 1 match on the road this season but have tightened things up recently and will be believe they can take a point. The draw is on offer at 2 with Ladbrokes. If Montpellier do take something from the match, it will be thanks to their excellent defence and the draw and under 2.5 goals is 5/2 at Ladbrokes. The 1-1 correct score is also available at 11/2 with William Hill.