Nimes vs Angers Predictions

• Angers have the sixth worst away record in Ligue 1 with just seven goals scored in eleven matches.
• Nîmes are one of three teams, Lille and PSG, to have won their last three games in Ligue 1.
• The hosts have won three of their last four home matches with two clean sheets in the process.

Nîmes finally on a run

Bernard Blaquart’s Nîmes side currently sit in 18th position with 24 points but at the tail end of January they had just 15. The Crocodiles are one of just three teams, alongside heavy hitters PSG and Lille, to have won each of their last three matches in the league. These wins, against Monaco, Dijon and Nice, have injected the confidence back into the squad and they’ll be looking for win number four here.

Before Nîmes’ recent three wins, they had won just two of their previous 18. However, they have had a big slice of luck in some of these victories. Nice had to play almost all of the second half with ten men but Monaco can trump that as they had two players sent off on the half hour mark. The two games were poised at 1-1 when these dismissals happened but nevertheless Nîmes will be counting their blessings following these matches. 

Nîmes will be boosted by the Stade des Costières here though as they have been much better at their home ground this season. It’s been where they’ve picked up 17 of their 24 points so far and with three wins in their last four there, the Crocodiles will have an air of confidence about them here.

Angers in need of some points on the road

Angers don’t have as many positives to take into this match as Stéphane Moulin’s men have lost each of their last four games with their defence really being exposed in the process. Any SCO fan will tell you of their lack of confidence in their back line and it’s not hard to understand why as it has largely been made up of the exact same players for the last four years; Vincent Maneau has been their mainstay right-back since 2010 without much reprieve since then. 

This has come back to bite them though as they have conceded eleven goals in their last four games. The worst of these results came in their 4-1 defeat to Reims, a team that had averaged just 0.8 goals a game up until that point. They have kept just two clean sheets in their last 13 matches now, winning three times, two of which came in the cup against lower league opposition. 

Angers’ away curse to continue?

Angers are in a really soggy patch of form with just six of their last possible 30 points being picked up in Ligue 1. They are drawn for the least goals scored in these ten matches and have the sixth worst away record in the league, winning just once since September. As a result of this we’re backing Nîmes to continue their fine form with a 2-0 victory.