Bath vs Montpellier
1st May 2000hrs
Rugby – England -European Challenge Cup
Pick Montpellier +7 handicap
Bookmaker Betfair
Odds: 10/11 odds taken 05:49 GMT on April 23rd, 2021
Bath are one step from a place in the final of the Challenge Cup this season and to get there they will have to see off Montpellier at the Rec on Saturday.
Bath are the heavy odds-on favourites to claim the match win, so can they deliver the goods?
Montpellier are bringing a nice bit of form to the table, having strung together a nice winning streak in all competitions.
Table of Contents
Bath Preview – Can Bath a return to the final?
This is somewhat familiar territory for Premiership side Bath in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
They have been to the semi-finals six times before. It has been four appearances in the final from that.
Their title in the competition happened in 2008.
There is a quote of 4/11 on the home win in this fixture* (odds recorded 05:19 GMT on April 29th, 2021).
There has been good recent form from Bath, who endured a tough first half of the season.
They have picked things up with three wins in their last four fixtures in all competition.
Their last game ended in a defeat away at Wasps last weekend in the Premiership. It was a bit of an upset to be fair.
But there is going to be a bigger focus on this match.
The winner will move ahead to face either Leicester Tigers or Ulster in the showcase match of this campaign.
Bath have done well to get here as they only squeezed through qualification in the pool stage, picking up a solitary point from their two matches.
Bath have won their two previous matches against Montpellier in the Challenge Cup.
In the round of sixteen of this season’s Challenge Cup, Bath posted a 35-27 win away at Zebre.
Then back on home turf, they eased past London Irish 26-13 in the quarter-finals.
That has been five wins in their last seven matches in all competitions.
A Bath -7 handicap is at a quote of 10/11 for Challenge Cup rugby betting on Saturday* (odds recorded 05:19 GMT on April 29th, 2021).
Bath’s record in the Challenge Cup at The Rec is just exemplary. They have won 29 of 30 previous home fixtures in the competition.
Remarkably they have scored all of their points in this season’s competitions from trees and conversion. Not a single penalty has been converted.
Montpellier Preview – Can’t the French steal the show?
Montpellier are on the hunt for their second Challenge Cup title. Their win happened at the climax of the 2016 season.
The French challengers turn up at The Rec as the 2/1 underdogs in the match outright for Challenge Cup rugby betting* (odds recorded 05:19 GMT on April 29th, 2021).
So that’s some fairly big odds for them to overcome.
But they have form.
Montpellier are 11th of 14 in the domestic Top 14 in France with a W7 L13 record. Four of those seven wins have come in their last five games.
So Montpellier have hit a purple patch of form when you throw in their knockout stage wins in the Challenge Cup as well.
It is a five-match winning streak in all competitions that they are currently in.
There’s more too. Montpellier are on an eight-match winning sequence in the Challenge Cup.
So they are not to be taken too lightly.
In the quarterfinals of this season’s European Rugby Challenge Cup, Montpellier took a 31-25 home win over Benetton Rugby.
Montpellier have won four of their last five road trips to England in the Challenge Cup (L1).
That was after losing their first eight such fixtures.
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So all those stats suggest a lot of positives for Montpellier.
A Montpellier +7 handicap is at 10/11 odds in Rugby Betting* (odds recorded 05:19 GMT on April 29th, 2021).
But we need to swing back around to the head to head.
While they have lost their two previous matches against Bath in the Challenge Cup (pool stage matches), there is bigger head to head form.
Bath have also won three of the four previous Champions Cup meetings (L1).
It tallies up to three losses away at Bath for Montpellier
Their form certainly makes this one interesting, but can they do enough to produce the road win?
Bath vs Montpellier Betting Advice
There is a lot to like about the current form of Montpellier. They have upped their game on the domestic and European fronts with a five-match winning streak.
There is also their 8-match winning streak in the Challenge Cup. But we think this is where their journey ends.
The Montpellier +7 handicap looks favourable for 10/11* (odds recorded 05:19 GMT on April 29th, 2021).
Key Facts – Bath vs Montpellier Betting Tip
- Bath have won all three previous home games against Montpellier
- Bath and Montpellier are both previous Challenge Cup winners
- Montpellier have won their last eight matches in the competition
Neither of these sides have been prolific to be fair, with their record form. Bath have only made it 30 points once in their last five fixtures.
Montpellier had done that twice in their last five. We just think that this one ends up being a tight scrap.
There’s so much on the line. Bath can sneak it, but not by much. A Bath 1-10 winning margin for rugby betting is at 2/1* (odds recorded 05:19 GMT on April 29th, 2021).
The best betting odds for Bath vs Montpellier
Bath to win: 4/11 at Bet365
Draw: 20/1 at Bet365
Montpellier to win: 2/1 at Bet365
