St Etienne vs Troyes Predictions

• St Etienne have drawn two of their last four games.
• Troyes have avoided defeat in their last three Ligue 1 contests (Won 2, Drawn1).
• St Etienne have kept back-to-back clean sheets.

Les Verts can deny Troyes a third win in a row

An improving defensive organisation should enable Saint Etienne to stop Troyes winning their third game on the trot in Friday’s relegation six pointer at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Pascal Dupraz’s first three months in charge have been promising with Les Verts winning four, drawing two and losing three of his nine league games to date. Saint Etienne had lost five straight games, conceding 12 goals in that span, just before he took over and the first couple of contests under Dupraz contained familiar flaws.

But they have now maintained three clean sheets in their last seven games, including an impressive 0-0 away draw at in-form Lille last weekend. The week before, his team had edged to a crucial 1-0 home win over second-bottom Metz in which they held the visitors to an xG of 0.31.

Clean sheets becoming common for both clubs

These signs of defensive stoutness encourage a bet on the hosts to avoid defeat to a Troyes team that have picked up back-to-back league wins for the first time since October. Last weekend’s impressive 1-0 home win over Europe-chasing Nantes followed on the back of an easy three points at Bordeaux and a good draw with Marseille, which the xG stats suggest they dominated.

We’d probably take Troyes to win this if it was being played at the Stade de l’Aube, but away wins have been rare for Bruno Irles’ men. However, a draw could well be the outcome when two sides that need to keep picking up points to avoid the drop meet in these circumstances.

A 0-0 correct score bet should also have a chance of success given neither team have conceded in each of their last two league games.

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