Caen vs Strasbourg Predictions

Strasbourg have been one of the standout teams this season as they have progressed from last year’s 15th place finish to stun the likes of Lyon (2-1), Monaco (5-1) and PSG (1-1). Thierry Laurey’s men really have been in fine form this season with the front two of Lebo Mothiba and Ludovic Ajorque really tearing up some of Ligue 1’s most prestigious defences. 

However, their form has wained recently with back-to-back defeats which have seen them stagnate in the league. Angers (1-2) and Saint-Étienne (1-2) both managed to get wins over the Alsatians and this has been particularly disappointing because Strasbourg had won eight of the nine matches before these defeats. They lost a crucial part of their team to injury though as creative midfielder Jonas Martin has been ruled out until April. The 28-year-old has been the heartbeat of this Strasbourg side this season with 81 touches per game and over 1300 passes, he has already been sorely missed and that void will have to be filled if the side want to keep progressing up the table. 

Caen should be looking to capitalise on the recent shortcomings of Strasbourg but les Caennaise have been extremely disappointing this season and still have an uphill task despite the opposition being without Martin. They lost 1-0 to Nantes in midweek despite having a man advantage for almost an hour. Even though Nantes played most of the game with ten men, Caen only managed one shot on target and conceded four with les Caennaise hardly threatening up top. They had 60% of the possession and still managed to lose, which really sums up how the team have played this year. 

There are semblances of quality in this Caen side as Faycal Fajr has tried to hold the team together but ultimately there have just been too many passengers this season. They now sit second from bottom with them playing a game more than Guingamp who are four points below them. Fabien Mercadal’s first season in Ligue 1 hasn’t gone as planned and as a result they will probably get relegated this season, it is up to them if that happens with a fight or with a whimper. 

Caen have lost six of their last seven home matches and are winless against Ligue 1 opposition since mid-December. Strasbourg have been much better on the road this season with them winning four of their last six away games. This fixture did end 2-2 when these sides last met in December and even though Strasbourg aren’t playing great, Caen are worse and with the hosts failing to score on Wednesday with the man advantage, we don’t see them scoring against the Alsatians here, even though Strasbourg have kept just one clean sheet in their last six games. Even in their two recent losses Strasbourg have had their chances with nine shots on target and as a result we’re backing them to win 2-0.