Montpellier’s stubborn sequence of results in the french top flight were finally brought to an end by Nice in a 3-1 loss away from home on the weekend but Montpellier return to their Stade de la Mosson for this upcoming clash against 14th placed Saint-Etienne where the hosts will be looking to get a result.
Montpellier had previously put together a solid 11-match unbeaten run in Ligue 1 but having registered just four wins and being held to no fewer than seven draws within this period, this has resulted in Montpellier being nine points adrift of the top five pack.
Nevertheless, results on home soil have certainly seen a marked improvement for Montpellier who are unbeaten in their last five games at home, winning three of these with victories gained over Dijon, Rennes and Bordeaux.
In addition, Montpellier have won the last two meetings on the trot against Saint-Etienne in 1-0 wins away from home and at home respectively, both by 1-0 margins and they may well have the upper hand this Sunday too, especially as the hosts have only lost just one of the previous six meetings against their visitors.
Saint-Etienne have produced mixed results of late and they’ve lost their last two matches on the trot in Ligue 1 having been handed defeats by PSG and Brest which has resulted in the visitors dropping down into 14th place on the Ligue 1 ladder.
The bigger picture shows that Saint-Etienne have won just three out of their previous nine matches overall with victories over Angers, Nimes and Bordeaux, all of whom sit in the lower half of the division.
The visitors have actually performed better away from home though this season and they’ve won four of their last six matches on their travels but only two of these were against teams in the top half of Ligue 1 with wins at Nice and Rennes.
Saint-Etienne have historically struggled to get results against their Sunday’s hosts, Montpellier, and having lost their last two matches on the trot, this doesn’t appear to bode well for their Sunday’s clash at the Stade de la Mosson.
Montpellier have been hard to beat on home soil of late and the hosts should find a way to get a result against a struggling Saint-Etienne outfit here.