St Etienne will hope to secure their first points since the start of the season but Lille will be their toughest opponent to date.
Pressure is building up on Olivier Dall’Oglio’s shoulders as St Etienne remain without a win and goals scored since the start of the campaign. The team earned its place back in Ligue 1 after spending two seasons in the second tier of French football.
A fourth defeat in a row would result in the worst season start in the team’s history. It comes as no surprise that fans expect another rough weekend as St Etienne have not defeated this opponent in many years.
Lille began the new season with two confident wins and an expected defeat to PSG. This can be considered a positive start for the new manager Bruno Genesio. This team knows no bad form, with the last back-to-back defeats in the league dating back to the 2021/22 season.
How the bookies view it: Considerable away advantage
St Etienne’s record against this opponent from recent years is negative and Betfred valued the away win at 5/6. The home win is priced at 3/1 while you can bet on the draw at 9/4.
Recent head-to-head: Les Dogues stand undefeated in seven
Lille have had the upper hand in recent years, although the last four H2Hs ended in draws. Before that, Lille won three times in a row. Les Verts last managed a top-flight win in 2018 when they crushed Les Dogues 5-0 at home.
Players to watch: Will David score again?
St Etienne are yet to score a goal in the new campaign and it is impossible to single out a player that could change their fortune.
On the other end, however, stands a man named Jonathan David. Lille’s star youngster finished the previous campaign with 26 goals across all competitions and his form remains just as impressive in the new season. The striker has already scored three goals and assisted for two in seven games.
Probable line-ups:
St Etienne: Larsonneur, Abdelhamid, Macon, Batubinsika, Cornud, Amougou, Appiah, Moueffek, Davitashvili, Tardieu, Wadji
Lille: Chevalier, Diakite, Mandi, Alexsandro, Meunier, Andre, Gomes, Gudmundsson, Zhegrova, Cabella, David
Anything else catch the eye?
There are some curious stats to keep an eye on ahead of this fixture. For example, almost all of Lille’s goals this season have come in the 2nd halves of their matches. Particularly six of the last seven. Betting on them to score late is a good option.
No team has committed more fouls than St Etienne since the start of the season. The team has had serious problems defensively and there is value in betting on players like Marwan Nzuzi and Mathieu Cafaro to get booked. Both of them got booked twice in three rounds.
Based on the current forms of the two sides, betting in favour of the visitors is a good option. And of course, Betfred’s 13/10 odds for Jonathan David to score in this game are a solid alternative option.
This French Ligue 1 match between St Etienne and Lille will be played on Sep 13, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best St Etienne vs Lille prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
