Two fallen giants, St Etienne and Nice, will compete in the first leg of the French play-off final tonight. The prize is a place in Ligue 1.
St Etienne’s Bid to Return to Ligue 1
St Etienne were one of Europe’s top teams in the 1970s. However, they’ve spent three of the last four seasons in France’s second tier.
Nice Seek to Recover From Disappointing Season
Nice’s decline has been more recent. After qualifying for Europe in three of their last four campaigns, nobody expected them to finish third bottom this season.
Nice are heading into this game in poor form. They lost 3-1 to Lens in the Coupe de France final. This result means they have only managed one win in their last 10 matches.
Recent Form and Betting Odds
St Etienne also didn’t finish the Ligue 2 season strongly. They lost three of their last four matches. They only narrowly defeated Rodez by a single goal in the play-off semi-finals.
St Etienne lost 2-1 away to Nice in the Coupe de France earlier this season. Despite this, the bookies make them favourites with home advantage tonight at a best 5/4 with Betfred.
First legs are often cagey, and under 2.5 goals looks a potentially good bet at 5/4 with SkyBet. Betting against corners could be another good option, with under 9.5 flag kicks paying 11/10 at Bet365.
St Etienne and Nice will be battling for a place in Ligue 1.