Ligue 2 Round 6 – Friday Night Pre Match Analysis

Le Havre – Red Star

Based on the previous round of results this should be a complete mismatch. Le Havre thrashed Lens 4-0 away, whilst Red Star shockingly got battered 1-5 at home to Valenciennes! Will this end up as a straightforward Havre victory? Well, it probably will, but it’s situations like this that you always have to be careful of. I’m sure Red Star will have been working on their defence during the international break and they even brought in a few new players to help steady their ship. Despite this, I’m expecting Le Havre to have too much quality for them overall. Their new striker Mathieu Duhamel is injured for this fixture but Ghislain Gimbert will be starting and he looked lethal on debut vs Lens. The price isn’t great on the hosts but they are simply the better side and should get the job done.

Prediction: 2-0
Recommended bet: Le Havre -0.5 @ 1.88

Nancy – Niort

The hosts have left out star midfielder Remi Walter. His deadline day move to Nantes didn’t go through and he’s reportedly sulking a bit. Walter hasn’t actually been a guaranteed starter this year anyway because of attitude problems, so probably won’t be missed much. Nancy are otherwise at full strength and will be eyeing a comfortable three points tonight. Niort travel here winless and desperately struggling for goals this season. Les Chamois have only netted once all year (in the ligue) and it would be a surprise if they threatened much tonight. I expect Nancy to dominate possession and create numerous chances. Niort will hope that new signing Faiz Selemani from National side Marseille Consolat hits the ground running straight away, but truth be told, this team seems really flat this year. The odds aren’t great on Nancy but I’m willing to take them -1 asian. They should at very least take the 3 points, the question is by exactly how many they win by.

Prediction: 3-0
Recommended bet: Nancy -1 (asian) @ 1.95

Sochaux – Creteil

Somehow, Olivier Echouafni has survived the sack (for now). I think it would’ve been a great time to fire him during the international break, but the Sochaux board seem intent on keeping faith in their man. This is totally the wrong decision and there is no way Les Lionceaux can possibly achieve their full potential with him in charge. He’s too negative, the fans don’t want him any more and he appears to be holding back players’ development. He is almost in ‘must win’ territory here because failure to beat Creteil tonight would be a total disaster. The visitors are in a right old mess and currently managerless. Their ex coach Thierry Froger was ‘attacked’ when at work a couple of weeks ago, reportedly by someone employed by the club. He has refused to return to work and Creteil are currently looking for a replacement. This sort of turmoil can’t have done the players any favours, and to make matters worse they are also affected by a few injuries tonight, most notably to winger Bagaliy Dabo and midfielder Mathieu Lafon. Sochaux signed a new attacker late in the transfer window – Sekou Cisse from Genk and he could go well in Ligue 2. I don’t have much faith in Echouafni but if he can’t win this match then he won’t win anything. Sochaux @ 1.95 looks like a big price considering Creteil’s recent problems.

Prediction: 2-0
Recommended bet: Sochaux -0.5 @ 1.95

Clermont – Paris FC

Tough one here. Both sides are hard to beat, in fact PFC haven’t actually lost a game yet this season. It’s worth noting that Clermont will be without key CB Cedric Avinel and that could be crucial because they often look more vulnerable when he doesn’t play. The goalscoring form of striker Famara Diedhiou needs to be respected, but Paris FC will be a tough nut to crack. It’s likely to be fairly low scoring contest with 0-0 or 1-1 perhaps the most probable outcome. I’d say it’s a clear not bet match unless you like taking draws so I’ll leave this one alone.

Prediction: 1-1
Recommended bet: None

Nimes – Ajaccio

Both sides are winless heading into the contest, although things are much more serious for Nimes. Les Crocos started the season with an 8 point deduction and it seems to be a real heavy burden to carry. They haven’t actually played too badly and should’ve definitely obtained more points. Unfortunately, at crucial moments of games they’ve cracked. Goalscoring has been a major problem for the southern outfit. But this is hardly a surprise when your best striker is the ageing Toifilou Malouida. In between the sticks Les Crocos have one of the best young keepers in French Football; Mathieu Michel. He’s certainly saved them some points this season, but what’s the use if they can’t score at the other end?

Nevertheless, Nimes will eye a potential victory in this match because Ajaccio are nothing special. The Corsicans have similar goalscoring problems and matters haven’t been helped by the loss of key striker Nicolas Fauvergue to Paris FC. They have to hope that new Russian frontman Andrey Panyukov delivers the goods, but he’s a complete unknown at this level so anything is possible. Ajaccio are known for their poor away record and often struggle on the road. This could be a difficult time to face Nimes because their opponents are absolutely desperate to win and keep erasing their 8 point deficit. It should be a tight encounter with goals at a premium. It’s highly likely hitting the back of the net just once would be enough for either side to collect the points. ACA are missing key midfielder Johan Cavalli. I give them the edge, but not enough to trust betting on them.

Prediction: 1-0
Recommended bet: None

Evian – Auxerre

Incredibly tough game to predict here. Both sides are missing a number of players, especially Evian. I have to say my tactic is to avoid Evian games, at least for the next month or so. I find them extremely difficult to call and they have so many new players that I know little about. This match could literally end anything. I would need a 3 sided coin to predict this result! Maybe because of the defensive absences for Evian there might be goals here, so I will go for an ambitious 2-2 draw as my outcome. But honestly, I haven’t got much of a clue with with this one.

Prediction: 2-2
Recommended bet: None

Tours – Bourg en Bresse

Quite a contrast in styles here. Tours tend to be much more tighter and target defensive efficiency. They are a disciplined outfit under new coach Marco Simone. Actually, TFC are unbeaten this season but I think their results are better than what performances deserved. They aren’t as good as many think and this match is no banker win for them. Bourg tend to like to attack and will probably come here with a positive mentality. I am impressed with them this season and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they came and collected all 3 points. No bet though because it’s always dangerous backing away sides in Ligue 2, and the goal line set by the bookies also seems fair.

Prediction: 1-2
Recommended bet: None

Laval – Metz

Both teams are in good form and head into this match off the back off a run of wins. Metz are top and the relegated outfit have started this season very strongly. Laval though, always have to be respected to grind out results. I have already been caught out by them this season and they tend to have the knack of picking up unexpected points and scoring a goal at the right time. This feels very drawish and both teams would probably be content with a point a piece. Another match I’m not interested betting in.

Prediction: 1-1
Recommended bet: None