Nantes vs Montpellier Predictions

Hosts to secure safety

Nantes are the best bet to win at home to Montpellier on Saturday to save their Ligue 1 status. The relegated visitors have lost their last seven Ligue 1 away games and Nantes manager Antoine Kombouare will be confident of getting a result against Zoumana Camara’s side.

Both teams are at the wrong end of the table, with Nantes three places and 17 points above rock-bottom Montpellier. The hosts have won seven, drawn 12 and lost 14 of their 33 games this season, while the visitors have just four wins.

Montpellier could not break their losing habit last time, going down 4-1 at home to Paris Saint-Germain last weekend. The result was no surprise, with the visitors priced at 3/10 to win the game.

Nantes have only lost one of their last six Ligue 1 head-to-heads with Montpellier and need a win to definitely avoid the relegation play-off, but might be saved by the possibility of Lyon being relegated for financial issues anyway.

Nantes won’t want to take any chances and can see off the strugglers anyway. 

Backing Montpellier when they have been underdogs this season would have resulted in a 13.80-unit loss, with just three wins from their 27 games as an underdog. In fact, backing their opponents during their current run of 16 defeats in 20 Ligue 1 games would have resulted in a profit of 9.28 units.

Montpellier’s form is a major concern, with 16 defeats in their last 20 Ligue 1 games. Their attack has been abysmal this season, with no team failing to score in more Ligue 1 games than them (19 in 33). They have blanked in ten of their last 12 away games, scoring just six goals in 16 matches on the road.

Montpellier have looked vulnerable in defence, conceding in each of their last 20 Ligue 1 road trips. 

No team has conceded more goals in the league this season than Montpellier’s 76, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in 38 of their last 39 games.

Nantes to win 1-0 looks a decent correct-score choice. There have been under 2.5 goals in seven of Montpellier’s last nine Ligue 1 games and they have sustained six 1-0 defeats this season. A low-scoring win will also be a case of job done for Nantes.

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Edited by Mark Langdon