Rouen vs Metz Predictions

• Rouen have won six of their last eight home matches.
• They currently sit atop the fourth tier of France with the least goals conceded in the division.
• Metz have won just one of their last ten away games.

Rouen looking to ruin Metz’s cup hopes

FC Rouen have been having a fantastic time in France’s fourth tier this season with them currently four points clear at the top of the league despite only being promoted last year. They have won ten of their fifteen games so far and have done so by virtue of their incredible defence which has conceded the least goals in the division. They’ve conceded just nine times with three clean sheets in their last four matches. They aren’t the best attackers with a rather mild six goals in their last five games in all competitions but their surefire backline has been crucial to their success so far.

They should also be pretty grateful to their home support as they have won six of their eight matches at the Stade Robert Diochon in all competitions this season. It has been a key component of their wins so far with it being especially contributive when they beat Ligue 2 Orléans in the previous round of the cup. 

The visitors not confident on the road

Metz will have to cope with the atmosphere of the Robert Diochon as they travel to the north of France. Les Grenats haven’t been overly convincing on the road this season with just the one win in their ten games away from home. Even in their title winning promotion season from Ligue 2 last year they struggled to put in the same kind of performance on the road with just three wins in their final eight away games of the 2018/19 campaign. 

Metz closed out 2019 with some pretty poor results such as their 2-2 draw with Metz and the 4-1 defeat in Nice. They are winless in their last ten games and in need of a confidence boost but it won’t come easy here in Rouen. Metz do have a pretty solid record in this competition against lower league opposition though as they have won six of their last eight games in the tournament, both losses came against teams either in the same division as them or tier above.  

A cupset on the cards?

We think this will be a tight game given Metz’s awful away form and the fact that Rouen have had a great time playing in front of their own fans. There is a large chasm between the teams but as Rouen showed against Orléans, they are very capable of punching above their weight. As a result of this and given some of the bizarre results that this stage of the competition saw last year with Angers, Marseille and Montpellier all slipping up to lower league sides, we’re backing this one to finish 1-1 with a double chance bet in favour of the hosts.