Sunday lunchtime’s clash in the French top flight features the encounter between Montpellier and St Etienne at the Stade de la Mosson with both teams keen to bounce back from defeats just before the international break.
Looking a Montpellier first, and the hosts currently occupy a mid-table position of 11th place in the Ligue 1 table despite being handed a 2-1 defeat away from home against Lille just before the international break and with just one win under their belts so far this season, the hosts will be keen to address this situation on Sunday.
👊 @BouangaDenis ✂️ pic.twitter.com/F1rKN66ouU— AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) September 10, 2021
👊 @BouangaDenis ✂️ pic.twitter.com/F1rKN66ouU
Montpellier’s solitary success to date in the French top flight came in the shape of a 3-1 home win over Lorient last time out at their Stade de la Mosson so the home side will be seeking back-to-back home wins here.
However, Montpellier have found league wins hard to come by in recent times as the hosts have registered just four wins out of their last 16 matches overall, a sequence of results that also include eight draws.
St Etienne dropped down to 16th place on the Ligue 1 standings after being handed a heavy 3-1 loss away at Marseille just before the break which also ended the visitors’ unbeaten start to this new Ligue 1 campaign.
The visitors had begun their new season with three draws on the trot with points shared against Lorient, Lens and Lille, in 1-1, 2-2 and 1-1 draws respectively, while the bigger picture shows that St Etienne have now gone six matches without a win in Ligue 1.
Within this period, St Etienne have drawn four of these six games, so they too are no strangers to stalemates while away from home, the visitors have lost just three of their last 10 matches on their travels.
Losses at Lorient, PSG and Marseille have been offset by five wins in the shape of victories against Nice, Rennes, Angers, Nimes and Sunday’s hosts, Montpellier, in a 2-1 away win towards the end of last season.
Since that win, St Etienne have drawn two of their subsequent three away games in the French top flight so it may be wise to keep the draw in mind for this upcoming clash on Sunday lunchtime at the Stade de la Mosson.