Caen made a predictable start to their Ligue 1 campaign by losing away to Montpellier and may align themselves further with punter’s low predictions as they host a decent St. Etienne side, who achieved a solid win over Nice. In the other game, Amiens, who came away from a game with PSG with few scars as they kept the goal-count down to a respectable 2:0 loss, will hope for their first points on the table as they receive mid-table regulars and hopefuls Angers who drew 2:2 in a thrilling game against Bordeaux.
Caen vs. St. Etienne
3-Way: 1: Caen +190; X: +220 Draw; 2: St. Etienne +179
Spread 0: Caen +104; St. Etienne -108
Total +2: Over -127; Under +123
Caen
Caen didn’t do themselves any favors in their bid for Ligue 1 survival as they lost 1:0 to Montpellier. In addition, Caen failed to threaten their opponents goal mouth with a total of zero shots on target. This will come as particularly worrying considering that Caen scored just 36 goals last season, the third lowest in the league. On top of this they have only scored once in their last three games.
The only goal of the game came after the Caen defense were unsuccessful in tracking back appropriately as Montpellier attacker Souleymane Camara slipped through the cracks to head in a lofted cross from the far side. In future games, Caen’s defense will have to stay in shape and maintain focus at all times if they wish to grind out results away from home, especially if they can’t score.
Caen have made one signing in the last 10 days, namely Frédéric Guilbert from Bordeaux who plays in the right-back position and made his debut on Saturday.
Manager Patrice Garande will be with afull squad roster.
St. Etienne
An early goal was enough to see St. Etienne come through as the convincing winners against an out-of-sorts Nice side. The only goal of the game from debutant Jonathan Bamba was put through from a squared pass by Oussama Tannane following a clever attacking move. Les Verts’s day could have got even better had they been awarded a penalty in the first half after Bryan Dabo was clearly obstructed in the box.
Despite this, manager Christophe Galtier will be delighted that St. Etienne won without their defense coming under much of a threat, but may look to take more control in future games after only gaining 43% of possession. Further delight will be beating Nice, who finished 3rd in Ligue 1 last season, which will be seen as a significant step towards reclaiming the European spot.
St. Etienne has been busy in the transfer market over the last couple of days as they have added 19-year-old left-back Alexandros Katranis from Atromitos Athen to their squad and defensive midfielder Hernani from Zenit St Petersburg on loan. Going the other way was the young winger Arnaud Nordin to AS Nancy to gain match experience in the Ligue 2 division.
Oscar Garcia will have a full squad selection for Friday’s game.
Caen vs.St. Etienne – MATCH PREDICTION
As far as the last game is concerned, and for that matter the whole of last season and pre-season, Caen looks blunt up-front and another low-scoring Ligue 1 season beckons. Saying that, I could see Caen digging their heels in and not letting St. Etienne, who do not look particularly free-scoring either, get too many sniffs of the goal.
I would go for a very low-scoring game, with possibly St. Etienne winning but a draw is just as likely.
MY PICK: Under 2 goals (+123)
Additional Pick: Draw (+220)
Amiens vs. Angers
3-Way: 1: Amiens +202; X: +216 Draw; 2: Angers +175
Spread 0: Amiens +108; Angers -110
Total +2: Over -110; Under +106
Amiens
Newly promoted Ligue 1 side Amiens should count themselves luckily to come away from the Parc des Princes relatively unscathed as they lost 2:0 to likely Ligue 1 winners Paris Saint-Germain. In spite of the relatively modest score-line, at times PSG’s attack cut through Amiens like butter, and if it wasn’t for an out of practice PSG it could have turned ugly.
Manager Christophe Pélissier will be happy to forget about their first game and move onto a game with a team which they might have a chance of getting a result against in Angers. Although the manager will be concerned as Amiens has now lost their last 4 games, scoring just one goal.
Worry for Amiens will be the recent loss of Aboubakar Kamara in a 5.4 million-pound deal to Fulham. The 22-year-old French striker scored 11 goals in Ligue 2 last season.
Christophe Pélissier will have a full squad selection for Saturday’s game.
Angers
Les Scoiste were lucky to take away a point after late drama in an enthralling game against Bordeaux at their home stadium. It was Angers who took first blood after 11 minutes as an unorthodox assist from Baptiste Guillaume was put away into the bottom-left corner right-winger Angelo Fulgini.
Unfortunately for Angers, Bordeaux replied before the half hour mark with a similar goal and then made it 2:1 as Alexandre Mendy slid the ball in from a low-cross just after half time. Fortunately for Angers, a point was salvaged two minutes from the ninety as Guillaume capitalized on a parry after the Bordeaux keeper saved well from a long-range effort.
The main concern for Angers will be their low possession at home with just 46% of the ball. On the other hand, boss Stéphane Moulin will be ecstatic with Baptist Guillaume performance in the absence of Enzo Crivelli and will be happy with them to compete with each other for a first XI spot.
Manager Stéphane Moulin will have a full squad selection to choose from for the weekend’s game
Amiens vs. Angers – MATCH PREDICTION
Amiens has still not upgraded their squad to Ligue 1 level and I can’t see where they will pick up the wins needed to stay up nor the goals, especially after the loss of striker Kamara.
Angers, on the other hand, evidently has at least one or two goal scorers in their locker, and that’s with Enzo Crivelli missing who will be back for the game against Amiens.
I would suggest going for an Angers to win on the road.
MY PICK: Angers to win (+175)
