Strasbourg vs Nantes prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-10-05 19:00.
Strasbourg once again paid for a poor start in their 1-0 home defeat against Lens last weekend, conceding the only goal of the game in the 16th minute. Coach Patrick Vieira expressed his "frustration" that his team didn't "return at half-time with a draw," especially considering that the Blue-and-Whites are one of the two Ligue 1 sides yet to score before half-time.
This inability to make an early impact in games is affecting the consistency of the Alsatian club, as each of their seven results in the top-flight this season differed from the game prior (W3, D1, L3). They’ll hope that’s a trend that continues here after defeat last time out, and despite the fact the hosts have won only three of their previous nine home H2Hs with Nantes (D1, L5), they can take comfort in the fact that they haven't suffered consecutive home league defeats since October 2022.
Unlike Strasbourg, Nantes managed to score in the first half of their 3-1 defeat in the Derby de l’Ouest against Rennes on Sunday, but it was a discipline issue that penalised them. The Canaries not only conceded two penalties, but the red card received by Mostafa Mohamed means that coach Pierre Aristouy will have to do without their top scorer (five goals) here.
Sitting two points below Strasbourg ahead of this round, Nantes have won just one of their previous ten away league outings (D2, L7), but would nonetheless overtake their opponents with a win here. It’s unlikely to be an easy feat to achieve, with Aristouy’s men failing to win their last eight Ligue 1 road trips played on a Friday (D3, L5), including a 2-1 H2H loss here back in 2019.
Players to watch: Strasbourg will hope Habib Diarra can find the net after the youngster helped his team to victory in three of his previous four goalscoring matches (D1). Florent Mollet could steal the spotlight, as from six appearances so far, he has already matched his number of contributions for Nantes in Ligue 1 from last season (G1, A2).
Hot stat: Nantes have won just two of the 19 away league games they began as outsiders since the start of last season (D5, L12).