St Etienne vs Reims prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2022-05-13 22:00.
St Étienne missed a great opportunity during midweek to bridge the gap to safety, but despite leading 2-0 at half-time against Nice, they succumbed to a 4-2 defeat. As a result, the ten-time Ligue 1 champions appear up against it considering their three-point deficit and unfavourable goal difference to 17th-placed Lorient with two games remaining. St Étienne coach Pascal Dupraz remains optimistic though, stating he is convinced that his side still have “a 50% chance of staying in L1”.
Dupraz’s men ought to be confident ahead of this clash too, facing a Reims side who they’ve not lost a single top-flight H2H against at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard since 1959 (W14, D6 since)! After their midweek collapse against Nice, holding onto a lead could be the difference between relegation and safety for ‘Les Verts’, but they are the only team in Ligue 1 to win more points when conceding first (19) than scoring first (11)!
Heading into this weekend 12 points clear of the drop zone, Reims are simply playing for pride in their final two Ligue 1 matches. Even so, Óscar García’s men don’t look like a side with summer holidays on their minds, as they have picked up as many wins across the last four rounds (W2, L2) as they did in nine league games prior!
Reims have been solid away from home recently, claiming ten points from a possible 15 (W3, D1, L1) whilst conceding just three goals in the process. García has a solid defence to thank for that impressive record, considering no Ligue 1 team has scored fewer than Reims’ five away league goals in 2022.
Players to watch: St Étienne’s Denis Bouanga has scored the game’s opener within 25 minutes with five of his last seven Ligue 1 strikes, while Reims’ Hugo Ekitike has opened the scoring in four of his five goalscoring away matches in Ligue 1.
Hot stat: St Étienne’s 19 second half home goals conceded is a Ligue 1 high.