Nantes vs St Etienne prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-09-28 15:00.
[p]Nantes’ decision to reappoint manager Antoine Kombouaré earlier this year looks to be paying off, as after helping them survive the drop last season, they’ve now made a decent start to this new campaign. The Canaries have eight points on the board after five Ligue 1 rounds (W2, D2, L1) and only once across the past 15 seasons have they managed more at this stage. [/p]
[p]That said, they are winless in their last two outings (D1, L1) despite leading in both. A third winless contest here against Saint-Étienne could very quickly shift the positive mood in the Nantes camp, and their rotten record in front of their own fans in 2024 – they’re the side with the most home losses across Europe’s traditional top-five leagues coming into the round (nine) – may well create some trepidation. [/p]
[p]The potential saving grace for the home faithful is that they’re facing a St-Étienne side desperately struggling for form. Confidence in the camp was surely destroyed by a humiliating 8-0 thumping at Nice last week in which they became the first Ligue 1 team in the 21st century to concede six first-half goals, leaving manager Olivier Dall’Oglio “ashamed” of his side.[/p]
[p]That loss extended the promoted side’s record back in France’s top-tier this season to four defeats from five (W1). And while their defence looks a huge worry based on what transpired in Nice, Dall’Oglio should be equally concerned about a misfiring attack that has failed to score in all but one of their league matches so far – no other team across Europe’s top-five leagues had failed to score in more games coming into the round. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Douglas Augusto scored his first goal for Nantes since arriving in the summer of 2023 in their last home outing, but he’s normally making a name for himself for picking up yellow cards with a joint team-high seven in the league last season and two already this term. Opponent Ibrahim Sissoko is another often playing close to the edge, he’d committed more fouls than any other Ligue 1 player after five rounds (14). [/p]
[p]Hot streak: Nantes are currently enjoying their longest Ligue 1 unbeaten H2H run (W2, D3) since a streak of eight games back in 1998. [/p]
[p][i]Written by David HÂ [/i][/p]