Montpellier – St Etienne Prediction & Picks (27.04.2018)

Montpellier and Saint-Étienne meet at Stade de la Mosson, in a match for the 35 th round of the Liga 1. In the last direct match for this edition of the league, on 20-10-2017, Montpellier won by ( 0-1). The record of direct confrontations in this stadium is favorable to the visiting team, which in the last 3 matches won 2 and lost 1. But the last time they met in this stadium was on 19-02-2017, for League 1, which ended with the victory of Montpellier by (2-1). P. Lasne (49 ‘) and S. Mounié (68’) scored the goals of the game, for Montpellier, and K. Monnet-Paquet (12 ‘), for Saint-Étienne.

Montpellier:

The home team is currently in the 8 th position of the league, with 46 points won, after 10 wins, 16 draws and 8 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in a home match against Bordeaux, by (1-3). In the last match, they lost in an away match against Nice, by (1-0). In the last 10 home matches for the championship Montpellier won 3, drew 5 and lost 2, for which he won 14 points out of 30 possible. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (7 out of 17 matches). The team has conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches, so it has not presented great defensive solidity, but their offense has scored consistently, as they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In their home matches for this competition there is a tendency for few goals, since 11 of the last 17 matches have ended with Under 2,5 goals. In 34 matches in this competition, he only managed 2 comebacks in the 14 games in which he suffered the first goal. In the last 17 home matches for this competition there are 2 periods that stand out: they have conceded 6 of their 17 goals between minutes (16’-30 ‘) and 6 of their 17 goals between (76′-90’).

The Montpellier comes to this day with a defeat in the field of Nice, 1-0, totaling in this way the snub continued in the French championship. However, it should be noted that the landlords are going through a less positive phase and currently record only 2 wins in the last 10 games. Normally the coach Michel Der Zakarian opts for a supported style of play, using, in most cases, the left flank to create danger: Mbenza is a very fast and technically gifted player. However, the landlords have presented some difficulties in set pieces and finishing. Giovanni Sio is the great scorer of the team, with 10 goals scored. For this game the coach can count on all his players.

Saint-Étienne:

The away team is currently in the 6 th position of the league, with 49 points won, after 13 wins, 10 draws and 11 losses. In the penultimate match, they won in an away match against Strasbourg, by (0-1). In the last match, they won in a home match against Troyes, by (2-1). For the league, Saint-Étienne won 14 points out of 30 possible points, after 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses in the last 10 home matches. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (7 out of 17 matches). Their offense has scored regularly, since they have scored at least one goal in each of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 34 matches in this competition, he only managed 3 comebacks in the 17 matches in which he suffered the first goal.

Saint-Étienne left for this match with a victory over Troyes, 2-1, thus adding the twelfth game followed without losing in this competition. In this game away from home the team guided by Jean-Louis Gasset must keep the team in 4-3-3, privileging the organization, possession of ball and positional attacks, however, in some moments must play in counterattack: Bamba and Hamouma are very fast and exempt in the offensive transition. The striker Robert Beric is the best marker of the visiting team in the championship, with 7 goals scored. Everything indicates that there are no important absences for this game.