Montpellier vs Nantes prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-01-14 14:00.
He may have been appointed as Montpellier’s new manager only in October of 2022, but already the scrutiny will be beginning to intensify on Romain Pitau after his ongoing inability to turn their fortunes around. He has won just one of his eight competitive matches in charge of the struggling French club (D2, L5), the lowest point of which was inflicted upon them on Wednesday evening when they suffered their heaviest defeat in nearly three years – a 1-6 demolition at the hands of Nice.
Montpellier finished 11 points clear of the relegation zone last season, but find themselves 11 points worse off this time around when compared with their first 18 Ligue 1 games of 2021/22. That should be raising alarm bells around the club, especially with the humiliation of relegation extended to four places for this season only. To add further to the concerns, they’re due to face a Nantes side they have beaten at home in just one of their last six competitive H2Hs (D2, L3).
Nantes began the round just one point above their hosts, yet recent form indicates they are heading in the right direction. The Canaries have lost just one of their last eight league outings (W2, D5) in a period that has seen them climb from second-last in mid-October to 14th going into this weekend. Improved defensive displays have been key to their upturn in form, captured by the fact that only two Ligue 1 sides (Lens and Reims) conceded fewer goals than Nantes across the eight rounds prior to this one.
Travelling form does remain a persistent problem for Antoine Kombouaré’s side, which could be a hindrance to their ambitions to climb higher up the standings. Nantes are still yet to win on the road this season, accumulating the joint-fewest away points this Ligue 1 season (four).
Key battle: Montpellier’s Téji Savanier is usually in the thick of the midfield action, and only Neymar has been fouled more than him coming into the round (45). Consequently, there could be an intriguing battle between him and Nantes’ Andrei Girotto who has won the third most tackles in the league (34) but also committed the joint fifth-most fouls (30).
Hot stat: Ahead of this round, no side in Ligue 1 had seen more first-half goals in their matches than Montpellier (avg. 1.72).