St Etienne vs Monaco prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2025-05-02 19:05.
[p]No team sitting second from bottom in Ligue 1 has survived relegation with just three games to go in the last five seasons, so the odds are firmly stacked against Saint-Étienne in the next few weeks. Les Verts can climb out of the bottom two with a victory here and carry a two-game unbeaten home run into this clash (W1, D1), but they’ve not managed three in succession on their own turf all season.[/p]
[p]Securing that feat against a Monaco side they’ve conceded exactly four times against in each of their last two home matches (L2) seems a tall order, while defeats in each of the last four top-flight H2Hs at any venue reinforce the size of the task ahead. A fifth in a row would be unprecedented in this fixture, and another reverse, combined with victory for Le Havre this weekend, would push Eirik Horneland’s men to the brink of a return to the second tier.[/p]
[p]Monaco proved unhelpful to Saint-Étienne’s survival bid last week when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Le Havre, and that was a damaging result for the Monégasques as it prevented them from climbing into the top three. It continued an alarming slump on the road that’s seen Adi Hütter’s men win just one of their last ten Ligue 1 trips (D4, L5), with just 19 of their 55 points this term won on the road.[/p]
[p]Included in that poor run are failures to win against sides who share the bottom three with Saint-Étienne (D1, L1), including a stunning 2-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Montpellier. Any continuation of those struggles could prove fatal for their UEFA Champions League qualification aspirations, as Monaco’s final two fixtures are against fellow European chasers Lyon and Lens. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Full-back Léo Pétrot has assisted in back-to-back matches for Saint-Étienne after registering just four in his prior 94 appearances for the club. Mika Biereth is comfortably Monaco’s top scorer despite only arriving in January (G13), with ten of those strikes coming after half-time.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Monaco have failed to win half of the eight Ligue 1 away games in which they’ve scored first this season (D1, L3).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]