Amiens vs St Etienne Predictions

Amiens have picked up some solid form recently with just one loss in their last seven games strengthening their 17th position. They sit just above the relegation zone but have a seven point gap over Caen, one they will be looking to extend with a win here. For a team in their position their defence has drastically improved as of late with them keeping four clean sheets in their last seven games despite keeping none in the five previous. This has been a big help for them in terms of getting points as their attack hasn’t exactly been the most potent.

They failed to hit the back of the net in their last two games against 11th and 13th placed Angers (0-0) and Bordeaux (0-0) and have scored 24 goals in 30 league games this season. Moussa Konaté has been their top scorer with just five goals, quite the dip in form compared to his 13 goal season last year. Striker Serhou Guirassy joined on loan from Köln in January and has sparked a good connection with Konaté but will miss this match through suspension so Amiens’ attacking options are rather limited ahead of this tricky fixture. 

Saint-Étienne have won back-to-back games for the first time since January with them putting five past Caen before beating Nîmes 2-1 on Monday. The latter was a very even game as both sides had plenty of shots and corners but Robert Beric’s late winner was the difference as ASSE moved up to 4th. Jean-Louis Gasset’s men have done a great job in wangling their way into the top four this season after the disappointment of finishing 7th last year. Even though they hit a dip over January and parts of February, it looks as if they’re ready to finish the season strong and achieve their first top four finish since 2013/14. 

The Nîmes victory was a crucial one as they conceded in just the 2nd minute before fighting back to win. That being said, they do have some real defensive issues that need to be addressed. They have kept just two clean sheets in their last twelve matches and their last five clean sheets have all been against some pretty poor opponents with four coming against members of the bottom three and the other one coming against amateur side Olympique Strasbourg. Amiens should be looking to exploit this.

Neither side has been in tremendous attacking form recently with Étienne scoring just three goals in their last five games, if you exclude the average outlier 5-0 thrashing of Caen. Amiens are also one of the worst attacking sides in the league but we think their tremendous defence will bring them some spoils here. Again apart from the Caen victory, Étienne have scored just three goals in their last five away games, a poor record for a team sitting 4th. Amiens have won three and drawn one of their last four home matches and we’re backing them to get another positive result with a 0-0 draw here. The last two clashes between these teams have ended level (0-0, 1-1) and with Amiens scrambling for points at the lower reaches of the table, we’re backing them to draw this match.