Contents
- Competition: Ligue 2
- Date: Monday, 19th August, 2024
- Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20:45 CEST
- Venue: Stade Saint-Symphorien (Metz)
In the last game of the Ligue 2 first round, last year's Ligue 1 side, Metz, will welcome Bastia at Stade Saint-Symphorien in eastern France in Metz.
After spending three consecutive seasons at Ligue 1, Metz suffered relegation last year. They were in a really good position to avoid a relegation battle. Still, after four straight losses, they eventually had to play in the relegation playout and lost to St. Etienne on a 4:3 aggregate. Now, in Ligue 2, they are definitely one of the primary candidates for promotion. Currently, the bookies see them as the third or fourth-best team in Ligue 2, offering odds around 7.5 for them to win the title.
Bastia went through some difficult years after being relegated from Ligue 1 a few years back. They even dropped to the fourth tier but managed to consolidate a bit and are now playing their fourth consecutive season in Ligue 2. Last year, they finished 13th but were not that far away from the Playoffs, as 5th-placed Paris FC were nine points away. Over the Summer, some good players left, and we have doubts about the ones who arrived. However, even though they might appear weaker on paper, they had a good pre-season, and there are definitely things to be optimistic about.
Metz vs Bastia pick: Over 2.5 goals
Since these teams suffered changes over the Summer, it is hard to predict what to expect from them. However, during the pre-season, both teams mainly played high-scoring games. In seven friendlies, Metz were over 2.5 goals on four occasions, while Bastia went over this line in all six matches.
Bastia looked pretty good in the pre-season, especially in the later games, as they won against good teams like Ajaccio and Annecy and even a Ligue 1 team, the Angers. In those last three matches, they scored seven goals (2.3 per game) but also failed to keep a clean sheet.
On the other hand, the hosts should be among the best teams in the league, and we expect them to score a couple of goals against most teams in Ligue 2. Last year, at Stade Saint-Symphorien, they scored two (or more) goals against excellent teams like Marseille, Reims, Nantes, Monaco, Lens, and Rennes.
Considering all the above, we expect a high-scoring game, most likely with both teams scoring.
vs Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
Metz
3 : 2
Bastia
Ligue 2
-
Bastia
1 : 0
Metz
Ligue 2
-
Metz
1 : 0
Bastia
Ligue 1
-
Bastia
2 : 0
Metz
Ligue 1
-
Bastia
2 : 0
Metz
Ligue 1
Metz team news
The biggest story of this transfer window is Georges Mikautadze's departure. The Georgian striker scored 13 goals in 20 Ligue 1 games for Metz last year but left to join Lyon for 18.5 million euros. In addition to him, three important midfielders (Lamine Camara, Danley Jean Jacques, and Kevin N'Doram) also left the team.
On the other hand, four players arrived on a free transfer. Probably the best among them are winger Gauthier Hein, who arrived from Auxerre, and midfielder Jessy Deminguet, who came on loan from Strasbourg.
Last matches of
-
Amiens SC
1 : 1
Metz
Club Friendlies 3
-
Metz
0 : 3
Torino
Club Friendlies 3
-
Metz
0 : 0
UNFP
Hybrid Friendlies
-
Wehen
0 : 2
Metz
Club Friendlies 3
-
Metz
3 : 0
Villefranche
Club Friendlies 3
lineup
Goalkeeper
-
16
Alexandre Oukidja
Defenders
-
22
Kevin Van Den Kerkhof
-
5
Fali Cande
-
8
Ismael Traore
-
3
Matthieu Udol
Midfielders
-
7
Jessy Deminguet
-
25
Arthur Atta
-
34
Joseph Nduquidi
Forwards
-
36
Ablie Jallow
-
99
Joel Asoro
-
14
Cheik Sabaly
Bastia team news
Over the Summer, eight players left the team, plus three who were on a loan deal. Three top goalscorers, Migouel Alfarela, Benjamin Santelli, and Facinet Conte, all left the club, but according to pre-season, they look good offensively.
Meanwhile, ten players arrived on a free transfer, and two more on a loan deal. Five of them were from the Championnat National (third tier of France's football).
Last matches of
-
Ajaccio
1 : 2
Bastia
Club Friendlies 3
-
Bastia
3 : 1
Annecy
Club Friendlies 3
-
Bastia
1 : 2
FB ?le Rousse
Club Friendlies 3
-
Bastia
1 : 1
Paris FC
Ligue 2
-
Pau
1 : 2
Bastia
Ligue 2
lineup
Goalkeeper
-
30
Johny Placide
Defenders
-
24
Tom Meynadier
-
4
Anthony Roncaglia
-
6
Dume Guidi
-
42
Dylan Tavares
Midfielders
-
13
Tom Ducrocq
-
66
Jocelyn Janneh
-
7
Christophe Vincent
-
8
Julien Maggiotti
Forwards
-
17
Florian Bianchini
-
11
Lamine Cisse
3 Reasons why we should see three or more goals
- Bastia were over 2.5 goals in all six friendlies
- Bastia scored seven goals in the last three matches
- The previous h2h game finished as a 3:2 win for Metz
Main prediction -
Over 2.5 goals
Nikola has been betting for 10+ years and in the last couple of years he really improved his skills and made a lot of profit. He focuses mostly on football and basketball.
Best Odds:
Additional predictions
& current standing in Ligue 2
Regular Season | P | W | D | L |
G - A
|
GD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Guingamp | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 - 0 | +4 | 3 |
2 | Amiens SC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 - 0 | +3 | 3 |
3 | Annecy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 - 0 | +2 | 3 |
4 | Paris | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 - 0 | +2 | 3 |
5 | Grenoble Foot 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 - 1 | +1 | 3 |
6 | Ajaccio | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 - 0 | +1 | 3 |
7 | Pau | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 - 2 | 0 | 1 |
8 | Clermont | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 - 2 | 0 | 1 |
9 | Bastia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
10 | Metz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
11 | Martigues | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
12 | Lorient | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0 |
13 | Laval | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 - 2 | -1 | 0 |
14 | Rodez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 - 1 | -1 | 0 |
15 | Caen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 - 2 | -2 | 0 |
16 | Dunkerque | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 - 2 | -2 | 0 |
17 | Red Star | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 - 3 | -3 | 0 |
18 | Troyes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 - 4 | -4 | 0 |