Before the Round – Trends on France Ligue 1 (26-27/02/2022)

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Nantes pulled off a brilliant 3-1 home win against league leader Paris Saint-Germain last weekend. Now, the Canaries are aiming for a third straight Ligue 1 win. The race for the top three is heating up in Ligue 1 as eight points separate second-place Marseille and eighth-place Nantes.

Strasbourg - OGC Nice

Nice are third in Ligue 1 as they visit fourth-place Strasbourg on Saturday. Strasbourg have surprised a few onlookers as they go into the game unbeaten in three straight Ligue 1 fixtures. Nice ended a two-match losing streak a week ago with a 1-0 home win over Angers.

Strasbourg are Ligue 1’s in-form team alongside Paris Saint-Germain. They picked up 13 points from the last 18 points available with 12 goals for and seven against. Strasbourg have won to nil their last two matches versus Nice. Earlier this season, Strasbourg won 3-0 away.

Nice took 12 points from the last 18 points available in Ligue 1. Christoph Galtier’s team allowed a mere four goals while scoring eight times. Nice have won just two of their last six games versus Strasbourg.

• In Strasbourg's last 6 home games against OGC Nice have been scored under 2.5 goals (Ligue 1).
• OGC Nice are conceding an average of 0.58 goals in their away Ligue 1 games.
• Strasbourg are undefeated in 6 of their last 7 home league games.
• OGC Nice are unbeaten in 6 of their last 7 away Ligue 1 games
• Prediction: Strasbourg @ 2.10

Paris Saint-Germain - AS Saint-Etienne

Paris Saint-Germain are coming off of a shock 3-1 loss away to Nantes. Still, Mauricio Pochettino has a commanding lead in the Ligue 1 title race. Saint-Etienne have improved over the last two months and are now out of the relegation zone. Le Vert are unbeaten in four straight Ligue 1 games.

The Parisians picked up 13 points from the last 18 points on offer in the league. They scored 12 times and allowed seven goals. PSG are unbeaten at home this season in the league posting a record of 11W-1D-0L with a +22-goal difference.

Saint-Etienne sacked the hapless Claude Puel in December and hired Pascal Dupraz as manager. Since then, Saint-Etienne have been on an upward trajectory. Le Vert took 10 points from the last 18 points available in Ligue 1. Unfortunately, Saint-Etienne have lost their last six games against PSG.

• Paris St. Germain's most recent record of 15 consecutive home games in Ligue 1 consists of no losses.
• The average number of goals scored by AS Saint-Étienne is 0.83 for their away matches in Ligue 1.
• Paris St. Germain are unbeaten in 30 of their 32 most recent matches (Ligue 1).
• There have been 4 consecutive home Ligue 1 wins in a row for Paris St. Germain.
• Prediction: Paris Saint-Germain @ 1.20

Clermont Foot – Girondins Bordeaux

Bordeaux are at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table heading into this weekend’s fixtures. Les Girondins sacked manager Vladimir Petkovic in early February and hired David Guion on February 17. Although results haven’t been much better, hope is that Bordeaux will fight off relegation.

Clermont Foot host Bordeaux on Sunday in a six-point affair. The hosts are 15th in the league with 27 points from 25 games. Clermont are six points above the relegation zone. Earlier this season, Clermont won 2-0 away to Bordeaux.

Girondins took four points from the last 18 points available. It was the fewest number of points picked up by a team in Ligue 1 across the last six games. Bordeaux lost their last three games in Ligue 1 away from home.

• Clermont Foot have won just 1 of their last 7 home league games.
• We have witnessed 3 consecutive away defeats in both half time and full time in Ligue 1 for Girondins Bordeaux.
• Clermont Foot are conceding an average of 1.64 goals in their Ligue 1 games.
• In their 25 most recent matches of Ligue 1, Girondins Bordeaux have achieved just 4 wins.
• Prediction: Clermont Foot @ 1.85

FC Metz - FC Nantes

Nantes are dreaming of Champions League qualification. At the moment, seven points separate the Canaries from the top three. Metz are in the relegation zone and one point from safety. Nantes shouldn’t take Metz lightly or they will drop points to the bottom-three club.

The home team won the last two games between Metz and Nantes. Earlier this season, Metz fell 2-0 to Nantes away. Metz failed to win each of their last four Ligue 1 games, scoring just two goals during that time.

Nantes collected 10 points from the last 18 points available. Their last two games both ended as wins. Nantes have struggled on the road this season and their last two road games ended as losses. The Canaries have posted an away record of 3W-3D-6L away from home in Ligue 1.

• FC Metz have a poor record of 3 consecutive home losses in Ligue 1.
• There have been 5 draws at halftime in the most recent away Ligue 1 games of FC Nantes.
• FC Metz have won only 5 of their last 36 Ligue 1 matches.
• FC Nantes's latest clashes with FC Metz have been low-scoring with under 2.5 goals in each of their last 8 encounters in Ligue 1.
• Prediction: FC Nantes @ 2.50