Saint-Etienne vs Nantes Prediction and Betting Tips

Saint-Etienne vs Nantes Prediction and Betting Tips | 19th January 2025

Modified Jan 17, 2025 19:28 GMT

Can Saint-Etienne claim a key victory over Nantes this weekend? [Image: ASSEofficiel on X]

Saint-Etienne face off with Nantes in a Ligue 1 game at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard this Sunday. This match pits two of Ligue 1's strugglers against one another, as Saint-Etienne currently sit in 16th place, the relegation playoff spot, while Nantes are just one spot above them in 15th.

So will either of these sides pick up what would be a crucial victory this weekend?

Saint-Etienne vs Nantes Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

Saint-Etienne have not won any of their last six games with Nantes, although it's worth noting that four of them have ended in draws. Worryingly for the home side, though, you have to go all the way back to 2018 to find the last time they beat Nantes at home.
Saint-Etienne's last game saw them predictably lose to table toppers Paris St. Germain, although the fact that they only lost 2-1 to them was probably a positive for the strugglers. The loss did leave them on a run of four losses in their last five games, however.
Nantes are coming into this game with far less rest than Saint-Etienne. They suffered a loss to Brest in a Coupe de France game on Wednesday, marking their first defeat in four games. Ironically, their last defeat in the league also came to Brest.
Both Saint-Etienne and Nantes have 16 points right now, but the variance in goal difference is alarming for this weekend's home side. While they have only scored four fewer goals than Nantes, they have conceded ten more than them, leaving them on -21 compared to Nantes on -7.
Despite Saint-Etienne's struggles, Georgian forward Zuka Davitashvili has scored six goals thus far this season, including one of Ligue 1's four hat-tricks. However, his goal last weekend against Paris St. Germain was his first since late October.

Saint-Etienne vs Nantes Prediction

This will be a key game for both sides, as they are both hoping to claw their way to Ligue 1 survival this season.

On paper, Nantes probably have a slight advantage, purely because of Saint-Etienne's leaky defense. However, the home side have gotten slightly better in that regard since the turn of the year, and restricting Paris St. Germain to two goals showed improvement (even if PSG recorded 23 shots).

Given that Nantes have not been on the best form themselves and are coming off a midweek game, then, the prediction here is a draw.

Prediction: Saint-Etienne 1-1 Nantes