Saint Etienne vs Bastia Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Saint Etienne have made a very flat start to the new season. They made it past AEK Athens in their first competitive match of the season, with a 1-0 aggregate victory sending them to the Europa League playoff. They beat the Israelis 2-1 in the away leg and followed it with a 3-1 victory over Montpellier in the Ligue 1 opener.

This is where the excitement ends though. Their goalless draw at home to Beitar Jerusalem sent them to the Europa League group stages and another goalless draw at home to Toulouse followed. They did manage an impressive 1-1 draw at PSG last weekend and followed it up with their fourth consecutive stalemate in midweek when they travelled to Mainz and came away with a 1-1 draw again.

It may not be the most exciting of starts to the season, but they have got a win on the board and managed to take something away from the Parc des Princes. A point away in the Europa League groups is likely to come in handy as well. However, now Saint Etienne will be looking to double their tally of wins.

Bastia’s season has been a lot less consistent so far, and it does look like they’re going to be the same sort of mid-table side this season, as they have been in the past couple of campaigns.

They began the campaign with a 1-0 loss at home to PSG, which isn’t something you can really hold against them. They then thrashed Lorient 3-0 before losing 2-0 at Caen. Last weekend they scored a late winner at home to Toulouse to take three points away with them, leaving them 9th in the table at this early stage of the season.

Overall, Bastia actually have a decent record away from home as well. They have only lost three of their last nine away days in Ligue 1 and have won four times. Saint Etienne, on the other hand, have only won four of their last ten at home in Ligue 1 and are coming into this match off the back of a midweek trip to Germany.

This, in my opinion, gives Bastia a very good chance of getting something, and odds of 13/10 for a Bastia Win or Draw Double Chance looked excellent value considering Saint Etienne have only won one of their last five matches in all competitions. I’m going for a 1-1 correct score prediction at 6/1 as well.