St Etienne vs Lens prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-10-18 17:00.
[p]After suffering a humiliating four losses âto nilâ in their first five rounds of this Ligue 1 season (W1), newly-promoted St-Ătienne have now won two of their most recent four matches (D1, L1) and appear to have acclimatised to life back in the top flight. Those two victories for Olivier Dall’Oglioâs side both came at home, and another success here would mark the first time since April 2019 that Les Verts have been victorious in three consecutive top-flight home league matches. [/p]
[p]St-Ătienne may be wary of facing Lens after losing their last two Ligue 1 home H2Hs, and a repeat of the previous two would see them record a third consecutive Ligue 1 loss to Les Sang et Or at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the first time ever. Both of Les Vertsâ wins so far this season have seen them leading at half-time, while they trailed at the break in three of their four losses, so the scoreline at the midway point could well be vital on Saturday.[/p]
[p]Lens were one of just three clubs in Ligue 1 that remained unbeaten after seven rounds (W2, D5), with Will Stillâs side losing just one of nine matches across all competitions since his summer appointment (W3, D5) despite never scoring more than two goals in a game! Having netted at least once in each of their last 12 Ligue 1 away games (W4, D3, L5; 16 goals), theyâre widely expected to get on the scoresheet here.[/p]
[p]A stalemate could well be on the cards though, with Lens having drawn each of their last five games, the longest streak of one-pointers in Ligue 1 since 2013! Following the same pattern as St-Ătienne, five of Lensâ seven league games to date have ended with the same result that stood at half-time, further underlining the importance of winning the first 45 minutes.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Ibrahim Sissoko has three goal involvements in his last two appearances (G2, A1), with all three coming in the second half. RĂ©my Labeau Lascary returns from suspension for Lens having already been booked three times in the league this season.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: St-Ătienne boss Olivier DallâOglio has won only three of 11 games in the dugout against Lens to date (D5, L3).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ben Olawumi[/i][/p]