Auxerre vs St Etienne Predictions

Visitors’ winless road run to continue

St-Etienne’s poor away record in Ligue 1 makes Auxerre the best bet when the sides meet at Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps on Friday. Eirik Horneland’s visitors have lost 10 of their last 12 games on the road.

Auxerre are 11th in Ligue 1, five places and five points above St-Etienne, but both teams have lost more games than they’ve won. St-Etienne are 16th with five wins and 11 defeats, while Auxerre have six wins and eight losses.

Christophe Pelissier’s hosts suffered a 2-0 defeat when 15/8 to win at Angers last weekend, a disappointing result in a match which the odds suggested could’ve gone either way.

St-Etienne, meanwhile, had 75.1% possession but were held to a 1-1 draw by Nantes in their last Ligue 1 game on Sunday. They lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain two weeks ago in their last away league game.

The visitors’ dismal away form is a major concern. They have now gone 16 games without a win on the road in Ligue 1, and are on a run of five straight defeats on their travels.

St-Etienne’s struggles in front of goal this season offer another reason to back Auxerre.

Horneland’s side have been disappointing going forward, scoring just six goals in nine away games – an average of 0.7 goals a game on the road. No team in Ligue 1 has failed to find the net in more games than St-Etienne, who have blanked in eight.

Neither team is in great form, but St-Etienne have lost by a single goal four times in Ligue 1 and a 1-0 success for Auxerre appeals in the correct-score market.

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Edited by Joe Champion