Lyon – Saint Etienne, Ligue 1 Prediction

Lyon once again complicated their lives after allowing draw in the last match in the Champions League against Hoffenheim. If they have won, they would have been able to qualify and afford a break there to help them concentrate in Ligue 1, where it’s not easy at all lately. Lyon has 3 wins and 1 draw in the last 4 games in the league after this loss with 0-5 from PSG, but their weak defense makes impression. In general, they have only 4 clean sheets since the start of the season in 13 games in total. In addition, their captain, Fekir, is constantly injured and is never sure whether he can adequately help his team, because of frequent injuries. This is important, because Lyon is much stronger when the he is on the pitch.

St. Etienne do well since the start of the season. They have 1 point less than Lyon and are in 5th place – 3 behind Lille. Their only two losses came to Lille and PSG. Certainly St. Etienne will get very motivated in this clash. They know Lyon is vulnerable and can be defeated. In recent seasons, St. Etienne was a very defensive team, but now only 2 games have seen less than 2 goals since the start of the season. In addition, they have just 2 clean sheets, which came at home, out of all 6 wins in total.

Lyon is a favorite, but St. Etienne should not be underestimated. Last year the game finished 1-1. Greens have done well against Lyon in general over the years and are often surprised. We think Olympic’s weak defense will crack again and concede at least one goal. Lyons have a very classy attack and at paper they should definitely score. BTTS is main prediction at 1.65. Our alternative forecast is BTTS + over 2.5 goals at 1.95