Auxerre v St Etienne

Auxerre vs St Etienne Preview

A 2-0 defeat away from home at Angers lengthened Auxerre's winless run in the French top flight to six games overall which resulted in Auxerre dropping down the Ligue 1 table to 11th place ahead of this upcoming clash against lowly St Etienne at the Stade de l'Abbé Deschamps on Friday night.

St Etienne's ordinary looking form in the domestic top flight continued last weekend when they drew 1-1 at home with Nantes which now makes it just one win from their previous six games and includes being handed four defeats in the process and leaving the visitors sitting in the relegation play-off spot.

Auxerre have fallen on hard times in recent weeks in the French top tier as the hosts have drawn three and lost three of their last six games; points picked up in draws with PSG, Lens and Lille have been overshadowed by losses at the hands of Toulouse, Strasbourg and Angers respectively - the latter three defeats all being away from home.

The hosts had previously put together a five-match unbeaten sequence in Ligue 1 which consisted of four wins and a draw and three of these four victories were achieved on home soil at their Stade de l'Abbé Deschamps with wins against Reims, Rennes and Angers.

Christophe Pélissier's side are also unbeaten in their last seven home games in Ligue 1 as well.

St Etienne have suffered four defeats within their last six games overall in the domestic top flight having slipped to losses at the hands of Rennes, Marseille, Toulouse and PSG respectively and these recent defeats do not bode well for the visitors on Friday night.

The overall picture shows St Etienne have collected five wins, two draws but have also stumbled to 11 defeats within their total of 18 league matches played so far in this season's Ligue 1 campaign, but it has been their woeful performances and results away from home that have been St Etienne's achilles heel.

Indeed, the visitors have failed to win a single game on the road so far this season and have managed to pick up just one point from a possible 27 on offer, losing eight of their nine away games.

In fact, the bigger picture makes for even worse reading if you're a St Etienne fan as Eirik Horneland's side have now failed to win any of their previous 16 outings on the road in Ligue 1 along with being dealt 12 defeats in the process.

Auxerre v St Etienne Verdict

Auxerre hold a steady and solid record at home against St Etienne as the upcoming hosts are unbeaten in the last eight meetings at home against their visitors, so Christophe Pélissier's side look the more likely for the three points here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Auxerre win @ 1.90

Other side bets worth considering:

Auxerre win & Under 4 goals @ 2.75 (Bet Builder) Correct Score: Auxerre 2-0 @ 10.00