St Etienne v Lille

St Etienne vs Lille Preview

Despite the French top flight season still being in its infancy, the international break could not have come at a better time for Friday night's hosts St Etienne who had been handed three defeats on the trot in as many weeks, while Lille slipped to a heavy 3-1 defeat at home to the reigning Ligue 1 champions, PSG, so it would be fair to say both teams will be keen to avoid another defeat in this upcoming fixture.

Three losses in their opening three games of this new Ligue 1 campaign has landed St Etienne in early trouble as the hosts find themselves sitting bottom of the French top flight table having not only failed to score in these three games but they have also shipped a total of seven goals in the process.

Defeats at the hands of Monaco, Le Havre and Brest respectively have put St Etienne on the back foot ahead of Friday night's encounter, while the bigger picture shows Olivier Dall'Oglio's side have managed to capture just two wins in their last 17 league matches in the French top flight.

Victories against Metz and Brest have been swamped by no fewer than 10 defeats within this period but the international break may just give St Etienne a chance here as the hosts look to build upon claiming three wins in their last nine home games.

Lille have produced a fairly promising start to this new Ligue 1 campaign as the visitors have picked up two wins from their opening three games of the new season having got the better of the likes of Reims and Angers, both by 2-0 margins, although they did then slip to a subsequent heavy 3-1 loss at home to PSG just before the international break.

Nevertheless, two wins in three games has helped lift the visitors up into an early encouraging sixth place in the French top flight table ahead of this upcoming trip on Friday night to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard where Bruno Genesio's side will be eager to further exploit St Etienne's poor start to this campaign.

However, although the bigger picture shows Lille have suffered just three defeats in their previous 14 matches overall in Ligue 1, collecting eight wins in the process, the visitors have also succumbed to losses at the hands of Monaco, Lyon and PSG.

Results away from home though have been bright in recent times as Lille have won their last three games on the trot on their travels.

St Etienne v Lille Verdict

Despite making a poor start to this new Ligue 1 season, St Etienne hold home advantage here on Friday night, St Etienne are unbeaten in their last four meetings against Lille, all of which have incidentally resulted in Under 2.5 goals.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.90

Other side bets worth considering:

St Etienne win @ 7.00

Correct Score: St Etienne win & Under 2.5 goals @ 9.00