In our first matchup of Ligue 1 round 3, Saint Etienne, who won 1:0 once again away at Caen last weekend, will host Amiens, who are still looking for their first point after a 2:0 defeat to Angers. In our other game Troyes, who earned a shock 2:1 win over Nice, will play host to Nantes, who continued to struggle to find form again with a loss against Marseille.
Saint Etienne vs. Amiens
3-Way: 1: St. Etienne -161; X: +320 Draw; 2: Amiens +700
Spread -1: St. Etienne +100; Amiens -102
Total +2.5: Over +120; Under -125
Saint Etienne
Another routine win saw St. Etienne win their second game 1:0 away at Caen and make it six points out of six for the ten-time French champions. St Etienne came close early-on after winger Oussama Tanana forced the Caen keeper to tip his powerful header onto the bar and then proceeded to smash the follow-up straight at the keeper. Later on, St. Etienne forced another double-save from the keeper and did not get any closer to their first goal until the 67th minute. Les Vert’s first goal, in the 67th minute, was an efficient counter attack started by Jonathan Bamba after he snatched the ball off an opponent and managed to dribble his way through three defenders before passing it to Romain Hamouma, who finished the job by slotting it away through the legs of the keeper.
Despite not letting their guard down during the game and going to on to win 1:0, Saint-Etienne was pretty toothless going forward, with a definite lack of bite on the creative front as they had just one shot on target with two shots overall. This is reminiscent of last season as they scored just 41 goals last season, barely more than one per game. Perhaps it’s time to give new striker Lois Diony a full debut as he is yet to start for St Etienne, maybe playing alongside Jonathan Bamba who’s had a great start this season with one goal and one assist, therefore has been involved in every St. Etienne league goal this season.
St. Etienne have been quite active in the transfer window recently with left-back Gabriel Silva joining from Udinese Calcio, another left-back 19-year-old Alexandros Katranis signed from Atromitos Athen and defensive-midfielder Hernani arrived from Zenit St-Petersburg. Going the other way was Jérémy Clément and winger Arnaud Nordin both leaving to AS Nancy.
Manager Oscar Garcia will have a full squad selection for Saturday’s game.
Amiens
Amiens and their fans alike came away from their home ground deflated as they failed to register their first Ligue 1 point against Angers with a 2:0 loss. The Amiens defense was undone in the 27th minute by a clever through ball for the first goal, which was put away by Angers’s Enzo Crivelli. A second was added through a stunning 40-yard lob after the keeper came out of his goal area to challenge for a loose ball. Despite a mostly limp performance, Amiens did come close to goal when Charly Charrier was denied by the inside of the post after clever play from Gael Kakuta.
The Amiens defense looks disorganized at the best of times with goalkeeper Régis Gutner rescuing his side from humiliating defeats in their first two games, including their previous 2:0 loss to PSG. This will be of concern to manager Christophe Pélissier when you consider that they conceded just 38 goals last season, the 2nd best record in the Ligue 2; and scoring is certainly not their forte.
Amiens have recently added to their striking force with the addition of Moussa Konaté joining from FC Sion for an unknown fee; he is set to make his debut this weekend.
Christophe Pélissier will have a full squad selection.
Saint Etienne vs. Amiens – MATCH PREDICTION
Saint Etienne are the team in-form coming into this match-up, while Amiens have now lost five games in a row. Then consider the home advantage and St. Etienne’s Ligue 1 pedigree in comparison to their opponents and a win becomes an obvious choice for Les Verts.
However, with neither team being in a free-scoring form I would say the likelier and better-paid option would be a low scoring game.
MY PICK: Under 2.5 goals (-125)
Troyes vs. Nantes
3-Way: 1: Troyes +170; X: +235 Draw; 2: Nantes +210
Spread 0: Troyes -119; Nantes +112
Total +2.5: Over +135; Under -147
Troyes
A win worthy of heroes saw Troyes win their first game on their return to the Ligue 1 at Nice with a 2:1 victory. Troyes struck first as Benjamin Nivet lobbed a pass for attacker Adama Niane to latch onto and chip over an unprotected goalkeeper. Ten minutes later a clumsy challenge by the experienced Oswaldo Augusto resulted in a penalty for their opponents, which was scored to equalize. Fortunately for Troyes, a sensational 85th-minute touch and half-volley into the corner of the net recovered their win, executed by substitute Saif-Eddine Khaoui with his first and second touch of the game, sending the away fans into pure ecstasy.
There’s a lot to be happy with for Troyes and their first two Ligue 1 games, gaining four points against two Ligue 1 veterans and they haven’t looked like Ligue 1 aliens in the slightest. More reason for excitement is that their next seven games do not include a single team who finished in the top five last year, so it is more than possible that they could continue this momentum for a while longer.
There has been just one notable transfer in the last week with Clément Chantome joining Lens on loan.
Manager Jean-Louis Garcia will have a full squad selection for Saturday’s game.
Nantes
Claudio Ranieri and his team have now lost their first two games in the Ligue 1 campaign after losing in heartbreaking fashion to a good Olympique Marseille side 1:0. A tricky first half saw Nantes under the cosh for large parts, with new signing goalkeeper Ciprian Tătărușanu performing outstandingly as he made nine saves, with a couple of world-class stops during the game. Unfortunately, ten was one too many for Tătărușanu as he couldn’t quite keep the ball out of the net after an initial reaction saves, and the ball was scrambled over the line by Lucas Ocampos in the 87th minute.
The scoreline was an obvious improvement on a 3:0 loss to Lille, but there is still much work to be done all-around unless they are expecting their goalkeeper to save them from every game. That also spells 5 losses in a row and another loss to newly promoted Troyes could spread murmurs of discontent among the fans and board.
In recent transfer activity, Nantes have bought defensive midfielder Andrei Girotto from Chapecoense and center-back Nicolas Pallois from Bordeaux for 2 million euros.
Manager Claudio Ranieri will be without Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (meniscus tear) and Kayembe (cruciate ligament rupture).
Troyes vs. Nantes – MATCH PREDICTION
This is a hard one to call, as on paper Nantes should walk over Troyes, but their form has been terrible and they look lost with Ranieri at the helm. They will eventually find their feet but I would go for another Troyes win with them being on such a high after their last game.
MY PICK: Troyes to WIN (+170)
