Saint-Etienne vs Monaco
French Ligue 1 – 2016/17
Date: Saturday, 29th October 2016,
Kick-Off at 19:00 BST
Venue: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St-Etienne.
Saint-Etienne split their last six assignments with three victories and three wineless performances to settle at the seventh spot of the current league table, a comfortable ten points above the bottom three relegation zone.
The team is coming off a 2-0 win over bottom three team Caen on the road at the Stade Michel-d'Ornano last Sunday to build a two-game unbeaten run, via Sofa Score.
After both teams remained scoreless in the first 45 minutes of action, Senegalese midfielder Henri Saivet, on loan from Newcastle United, scored the opening goal with a right-footer from the center of the box four minutes after the reset.
French midfielder Jordan Veretout then doubled the lead in the 58th minute with his own right-footed strike following a corner kick to seal the win for head coach Christophe Galtier's side.
Caen was not able to respond with any goal as Les Verts goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier pulled off a clean sheet.
Meanwhile, Monaco bounced back from their lackluster performance in the previous round to demolish lowly squad Montpellier, 6-2, at their home ground of Stade Louis II last Friday, as per Goal.
Six different players scored a goal each for head coach Leonardo Jardim's squad, namely returning team captain Radamel Falcao, Kylian Mbappe-Lottin, Jemerson, Valere Germain, Thomas Lemar, and Adama Traore in the 36th, 49th, 64th, 74th, 76th, and 89th minutes respectively, to complete Les Rouges et Blancs' six-goal masterpiece.
Montpellier netted two goals in the match with a brace by Algerian midfielder Ryad Boudebouz in the ninth and 61st minutes.
The win allowed Monaco to redeem themselves after an embarrassing 1-3 loss to Toulouse in round 9. The team remained in the second place of the overall standings, four points behind current league leaders OGC Nice.
Saint-Etienne vs Monaco: Head-to-Head Stats
Monaco haven’t won in their last 7 trips to St-Etienne. The home side have managed 4 wins and 3 draws during the period. The last two home matches of Etienne against Monaco were draws, the latest in last season saw a 1-1 goal-line.
There are three draws in the last five meetings between these two sides in all venues, with Monaco and ASSE sharing a win each.
Saint-Etienne vs Monaco: Prediction
This could be another tough battle for Monaco as St-Etienne are coming on the back on an unbeaten home run in all tournaments this season. Also, Monaco who started the season on a brilliant note has started to stutter in away games. They have lost in 2 of their last three away games in the league by convincing margins. It is fair to say that St-Etienne can be backed to come out with at least a draw from this fixture.
The last four matches at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard have seen under 2.5 goals. And three of those fixtures ended in the exact 1-1 score-line. Considering the nature of the contest a similar score-line is highly probably on Saturday.
Saint-Etienne vs Monaco: Betting Tips
Under 2.5 goals at 2.20 (6/5)
Correct Full-Time Score: 1-1 at 6.50 (11/2).
