27.4.2018.

PICK OF THE DAY

Montpellierre - St Etienne

Tip : GG (both to score)

Odd : 2.00

FT : ??

Trailing Saint Étienne by three places and three points in the current Ligue 1 table, Montpellier have the chance to leapfrog Les Verts in the standings when they welcome them to the Stade de la Mosson on Friday.

Having won just two of their last ten matches, Montpellier are in less than ideal shape ahead of Friday’s fixture. The flip side of that set of results however, is that Montpellier finished on the losing side on only two occasions. Incidentally, both of those losses occurred in their last couple of Ligue 1 games, bringing their total number of defeats for the season to eight.

Montpellier drew six times inside that same two month span which pushed their overall total of stalemates for the 2017/18 season to sixteen in thirty four games. Unsurprisingly, that incredible record is the highest in the French top flight.

Montpellier also rank near the top of the charts for their defensive record this term, conceding just thirty times in the league so far. Their performances at the back have helped to offset their underwhelming attacking statistics. La Paillade have scored the fourth lowest number of goals in Ligue 1 this season.

One clean sheet in their last seven suggests that their once rock solid back-line is starting to develop a crack or two however and Saint Étienne look well equipped to chip away at any weaknesses on Friday. Les Verts are in the midst of their best run of the season, going twelve unbeaten before their trip south later this week.

Buried within that impressive streak are positive results against three of Ligue 1’s top four. Saint-Étienne took a point each from games against Marseille, Lyon and PSG. Their performances and subsequent results in those contests help to illustrate the high level that Jean-Louis Gasset’s team are currently operating at.

That trio of draws meant that Les Verts have drawn 50% of their last ten league fixtures in total, which comes quite close to mirroring Montpellier’s own habit of finishing level more often than not.

Montpellier have managed to squeeze wins out of their last three meetings with St. Étienne, though their recent displays portend a change in fortunes this time around. With both teams seemingly so fond of picking up points in singles, we’re predicting another share of the spoils at the Stade de la Mosson on Friday.

It’s now thirteen games since Saint-Étienne failed to score in a game and with Montpellier scoring in all but one of their last fourteen at home themselves, we’re tipping both teams to score this week. That pick ties in with our correct score prediction of 1-1.