St Etienne vs PFC Oleksandria Predictions

Ukrainian side Oleksandriya face St. Etienne away from home on Thursday evening, as they search for a first win in Group I. The hosts are also looking to take maximum points for the first time since the start of this competition.

Much like they have in Ligue 1, St. Etienne have underwhelmed during the early stages of the Europa League, so it’s not been the best of starts for the French side, who’ve lost one and drawn one in Group I.

On balance, as they were the better team in terms of shots, shots on target and expected goals, Thursday’s hosts were unfortunate to lose away against Gent on match-day one, but rather than use what was a reasonable performance to propel them to victory on match-day two, Claude Puel’s men could only manage to secure a draw. On that occasion, St. Etienne defended well, while they also did a good job of restricting a very decent Wolfsburg side to just two shots on target and 0.19 expected goals, but they were weak in attack, registering only 0.38 expected goals for.

Fortunately, the French hosts have been presented with an excellent opportunity to kick-start their European campaign at the third time of asking.

Oleksandriya did get themselves a draw against Gent last time out, and were in fact worthy of more, as they were on top in front of a home crowd, but as is often the case with Ukrainian sides in the Europa League, they were poor away from home first time out.

On match-day one, Thursday’s visitors floundered, as they lost by three goals to one away against Wolfsburg. On that occasion, they struggled to both create and contain their hosts.

In the betting, ‘St. Etienne to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’ makes lots of appeal. The hosts haven’t exactly covered themselves in offensive glory, but their home antics against Wolfsburg bode well ahead of a match against a visiting side that is likely to offer a limited amount away from home. Furthermore, St. Etienne boast an average expected goal difference +0.61 at home in Ligue 1 this term. All in all, it is the hosts who appear to have more about them in terms of quality, while the defensive strength that they have points towards a relatively low-scoring win for Claude Puel’s side.