Reims vs AC Ajaccio prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-03-04 14:00.
There will be a sombre mood at the Stade Auguste-Delaune as Reims play their first match since the passing of Just Fontaine, who scored 145 goals for them between 1956 and 1962, during which time they won three French top-flight championships and reached the European Cup final. Yet even his great sides never went 17 league games unbeaten, like that of Reimsâ current team (W7, D10)!
Reimsâ 3-0 win over Toulouse continued their recent trend of winning at home and drawing away (W3, D3) so this could be the ideal platform to string together two consecutive Ligue 1 victories for the first time since December 2021. Theyâll be odds-on favourites to do so and move closer to the European qualification places as theyâve not lost a home H2H against Ajaccio since 2008 (W3, D2).
Battling Ajaccio have lost the last four H2Hs anywhere âto nilâ so canât be relishing this match-up given their position in the lower reaches of the table and their ongoing fight to save their top-flight status. However, they should travel with some confidence after snapping a three-match losing run with a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Troyes.
Just one win across their last eight league away games (D2, L5) highlights their struggles on the road, however. A major factor has been a vulnerable defence which has conceded an average of 3.5 goals per game during their last four Ligue 1 road fixtures (W1, L3) and with just one clean sheet on the road in the league this term, securing a positive result here could be a huge challenge.
Players to watch: Ajaccio will be acutely aware of the threat Reimsâ Marshall Munetsi poses as he scored in the third minute of Januaryâs reverse fixture, and has since netted two further Ligue 1 goals inside the first ten minutes. At the other end of the scale, MounaĂŻm El Idrissy completed the scoring with strikes after the 65th minute in each of Ajaccioâs last two league wins.
Hot streak: Reims won less than six corners in each of their last ten Ligue 1 games.