Marseille Vs St. Etienne
Marseille Vs St. Etienne Thursday 17 September 2020 – 20:00 (GMT)
French Ligue 1
Pick: Marseille to WIN
Odds: Evens
Bookmaker: Betway
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 15 September 2020)
Preview: Neither team has put a foot wrong so far, with Marseille and St. Etienne keen to preserve perfect records when the sides meet inside Stade Velodrome on Thursday. Last season’s corresponding fixture went the way of the home side, though, whose 1-0 victory laid the foundations for a league double as they subsequently won the reverse fixture 2-0.
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Table of Contents
Marseille Preview – Confidence oozing on the back of Paris triumph?
Memories of Sunday’s enthralling victory in Paris over PSG still fresh on their minds, Marseille return to Ligue 1 action four days later and could even assume the outright lead should manager Andre Villas-Boas maintain his flawless record versus St. Etienne. Last season, L’OM prevailed home and away against Les Verts without so much as conceding a goal, crucially running out narrow 1-0 winners inside Stade Velodrome.
Both meetings in 2019-20 were closely fought, and another is expected on Thursday. Even more so now that Villas-Boas is lighter on first-team personnel following Sunday’s tetchy affair in the French capital. The victory was all important, of course, with Marseille securing their first win over the Parisians since 2011, however, it did come at the cost of losing full-back Jordan Amavi and striker Dario Benedetto to suspension.
Their Parc des Princes success came nearly two full weeks since edging out Brest to win their season opener 3-2 in Brittany, and means they are one of two sides still to drop a point – with the other being Thursday’s opponents. Meanwhile, Marseille averaged a very healthy two points-per-game across 14 home matches in 2019-20 (W8 D4 L2), however did manage only one win in their final four said matches (W1 D2 L1).
St Etienne Preview – Early promise to be tested in first road outing?
Two games into the new league season in France and St Etienne have already registered more points (6) from their opening two contests than they managed across their final twelve Ligue 1 fixtures (5) of a curtailed 2019-20. That is quite the turnaround under Claude Puel, the former Lyon and Leicester City manager whose pragmatism is often a hard sell and usually means he is rarely too far away from fan discontent.
Just four teams plundered fewer goals in Ligue 1 last season than their 29 goals from 28 games, coming at little more than a goal a game as they finished in a lowly 17th. They’ve notched twice in as many games this time around, though, beating both Lorient and Strasbourg 2-0 at their Stade Geoffroy-Guichard either side of the international break. A third successive win would see them climb atop the standings.
Victory on Thursday would certainly be something worth cherishing. Indeed, St Etienne were among the poorest travellers in 2019-20, recording only four victories across fourteen away outings (W4 D0 L10), and were the only team to avoid a single draw on the road. In fact, Puel’s men are still on a seven-match losing streak away from home. Moreover, in 23 Ligue 1 visits to the Stade Velodrome, Les Verts have never come away as victors (D4 L19).
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Marseille Vs St Etienne Betting Advice
Something has to give when the only remaining 100% records converge on Marseille‘s Stade Velodrome. The hosts will be in high spirits after riding their luck to a hard-fought 1-0 win away to PSG on Sunday, which was shortly after St Etienne made it back-to-back victories by beating an uninspiring Strasbourg. However, the latter have never won this fixture away from home, mustering only four draws in 23 attempts since 1989.
Marseille Vs St Etienne – Key Facts
- Since the beginning of last season, Marseille have only tasted defeat twice on home soil in 15 Ligue 1 matches (W9 D4 L2) – though have won only two of the past five (W2 D2 L1).
- A barren run comprising seven successive away defeats is what St Etienne are desperately hoping to end at the Stade Velodrome, a ground they’ve never won at in 23 prior visits in Ligue 1 (D4 L19).
- Marseille did the double over St Etienne in the league last season, winning both meetings without conceding, and have now won the past four meetings on home soil.
Although they are missing a couple of important players, the Marseille dressing room should still be on a high from Sunday and are expected to further enhance their exceptionally strong record in this fixture, having won each of the last four Ligue 1 home meetings with St Etienne to nil. A word of caution: of Marseille’s eight home wins last season, only three were without letting in a goal. 2-1 Marseille.
Best Betting Odds – Marseille Vs St Etienne
Marseille – Evens (Betway)
Draw – 23/10 (Betfair)
St Etienne – 3/1 (Unibet)
