Brest vs St Etienne prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-08-30 15:00.
[p]Living up to last season’s miraculous UEFA Champions League qualification was always going to be difficult for Brest, but their start to the season has laid bare how tough that task will be. Back-to-back defeats to open the campaign left them at the foot of the Ligue 1 table this week, prompting manager Éric Roy to tell his squad “to take a look at themselves” as they prepare to host newly-promoted Saint-Étienne.[/p]
[p]Home fans may still cling to the fact that their side have won the last three home H2Hs against their upcoming opponents, while Brest also won all four meetings with newly-promoted teams last season. A fast start may be key to continuing those records, but that’s not something the Pirates have been used to as they’ve conceded five times inside 25 minutes across their last six matches. [/p]
[p]Back in the top-flight after a two-year absence, Saint-Étienne have also suffered a pair of defeats to open the Ligue 1 season. A failure to score from 25 shots across those two games won’t have pleased boss Olivier Dall’Oglio, but he’ll be keen to ensure their competitiveness thus far is rewarded as he prepares to face off against one of his former clubs.[/p]
[p]As it happens, two of Brest’s three consecutive home H2H wins mentioned earlier came when Dall’Oglio was in their opposite dugout! He’ll be solely focused on guiding Les Verts to victory here, but one would be brave to predict the outcome of this clash given that all of Saint-Étienne’s last seven away matches have had a different outcome than the preceding fixture (WLWDLDL). [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Returning for a second stint at Brest, Romain Faivre scored one of his 13 league goals for the club against Saint-Étienne, but none of his last four scoring appearances for Lorient last term ended in victory (D1, L3). After excelling for Bordeaux in Ligue 2 last term (G8, A8), Zuriko Davitashvili is now looking to make an impact at Saint-Étienne – four of his last five goals have come in the ten minutes either side of half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Brest’s last ten games have seen six red cards issued.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]