Montpellier vs Reims prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-08-26 13:00.
For the first time in 11 years, Montpellier have avoided defeat in their opening two Ligue 1 matches (W1, D1) after following up their opening day 2-2 draw against Le Havre with an eye-catching 4-1 win at Lyon last week. Post-game, head coach Michel Der Zakarian praised his side’s attacking “efficiency”, and La Paillade could very soon start developing a tag as one of the division’s entertainers given they’ve netted 2+ goals in seven of their last eight league matches.
Montpellier now welcome Reims, who they got the better of on their opponents' turf in the final game of last season (3-1), extending their unbeaten H2H run to five matches (W1, D4). The home faithful would welcome a repeat result here, particularly given they’ve seen their side win just one home league game since March (D2, L2).
Reims bounced back from their opening-day defeat to Marseille by seeing off Clermont on home turf last week (2-0). That was much to the relief of manager Will Still who talked up the impact of the extreme weather during the contest, with France having been hit with a heatwave that has seen temperatures exceed 40 degrees this past week.
More importantly, the win would have alleviated some of the heat on Still, with his side having won just one of their previous ten Ligue 1 games going into last week’s match (D2, L7). Looking to build on that victory, they will come into this clash as underdogs, but their record of just one win as such on the road last season (D6, L4) doesn’t inspire much belief they can spring a surprise.
Players to watch: With star forward Elye Wahi gone, it’s good news that new signing Akor Adams has seamlessly settled into life at Montpellier, scoring three goals in his first two Ligue 1 matches. Fellow league newcomer Mohamed Daramy also made a dream start for Reims when he came off the bench to score on his debut in last week’s victory.
Hot stat: Montpellier have scored six goals on or after the 60th minute across their last six home Ligue 1 matches.