Clermont vs Reims prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-04-29 13:00.
Clermont have evidently progressed this Ligue 1 season by accruing 17 points more than they had at this same stage in 2021/22, but a ten-point gap to the top five ahead of the round looks difficult to overturn with six games to play. However, following their 2-1 victory at Nice on Sunday, this 2022/23 top flight campaign will go down in the club's history as the first to see Clermont string together four wins in a row.
Pascal Gastien's men will now be looking to record the first three-game home winning streak in the club's top flight history, after a brace of 2-1 come-from-behind wins at Stade Gabriel Montpied. All four of Clermont's goals in these games were scored from the penalty spot, and with a total of three penalties during their 4-2 H2H win at Reims in August, referee Stéphanie Frappart might have some work to do in this match.
Optimism has steadily deteriorated for Reims since suffering three losses across their last five Ligue 1 outings (W1, D1), representing as many as in the 26 prior! Their 2-0 home defeat against relegation-battling Strasbourg made it consecutive losses ‘to nil’, and manager Will Still must now avoid a hat-trick of scoring blanks for the first time in 15 months if his side are to keep their coveted top-half status.
Improvement is badly needed in the final third if the Red and White are to reduce their current nine-point gap on the European places, especially as they’ve failed to score more than one goal in ten of their last 11 Ligue 1 road trips! It’s unlikely to be an easy trip for Still’s men, with Reims set for a tough test against Clermont knowing they’ve won only one of their 12 league trips to Gabriel Montpied this century (D4, L7).
Key battle: Lucky-charm Grejohn Kyei has led Clermont to victory with all of his nine goal contributions (G6, A3) this Ligue 1 campaign. Aiming to shut him out, no goalkeeper has registered more clean sheets than Reims’ custodian Yehvann Diouf (13) in Ligue 1 this season.
Hot stat: Clermont have gained a league-high 12 points after the 75th minute, while being one of the two teams that are yet to drop points during that period.