Metz vs Stade Brestois
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Today’s free tip is in the French Ligue 1 encounter between Metz and Stade Brestois.
Although there’s little between these two teams, I think the timing of the fixture favours Stade Brestois. The visitors have won their last two Ligue 1 outings, beating Lille OSC 3-2 and AS Saint-Etienne 4-1. Both games were at home though, so they need to prove that they can do it at the Symphorien today too. Fortunately for them, Metz have gone off the rails since they lost half of their starting eleven to injuries and suspensions. A number of them are now back, but leading goal-scorer Niane is amongst those still out, and it’s made Metz even less effective than usual.
The thing with Metz is that if you watch them play, it’s difficult not to be impressed. They’re first to every ball, they’re a constant menace on the break, and they’re so painful to get around because of how fast they are. It takes intelligence and/or quality to upset Metz, and unfortunately for them, they’re playing in a division containing a lot of teams that are better than they are. They’ve held their own well fairly well this season but they’re not known as France’s yo-yo team for no reason i.e. it doesn’t take much for them to go off the rails. They seldom escape a game without conceding at least once goal, the eastern France outfit, and I doubt it’ll be any different today.
I wouldn’t get carried away with Niane, incidentally. Most years, Metz tend to find a couple of African footballers that have very good seasons but they’re seldom able to continue it into the next season, the sole exception coming to my mind being Ismaila Sarr, now of Watford. Metz often create chances so they’re never far from scoring. It’s just that consistency in front of goal that chokes them. I recall watching Metz at the start of the season, and in every single game it was the same story – played well, deserved something, and lost by conceding and not scoring. Now they are at least bagging the odd goal but it’s still not ideal, and adding Leya Iseka to ‘solve’ that problem was a desperate cry for help. He’s got a bad attitude, and he’s not a good finisher; you’d never know he was Batshuayi’s brother.
So, yeah – I like the overall approach of Metz. I like the general positive attitude in the squad, and their work-rate would put most to shame at this level. It’s just that they’re not terribly effective, and with the likes of Niane and Pajot on the sidelines, I’m struggling to accept that Metz can realistically hope to win this game. It’s not going to be made easy for Stade Brestois; I’m certain of that. However, Metz are a team to oppose rather than back right now.
Helpfully, Stade Brestois are playing well at the moment, as I said above. They’re far from perfect, frequently giving stupid goals away, but their attack has been really effective this season. That in itself is impressive enough, but when you consider that new signing Philippoteaux, a proven creator at this level, has been out for a while (and still is), it’s even more impressive. Benin international Steve Mounie has done seriously well since returning to Ligue 1, and anyone that watched him during his time at Montpellier HSC will not be surprised by that. With lots of legs around him, Stade Brestois have not struggled to hurt teams, especially not with Battocchio, Faivre etc. pulling the strings.
They may not be well balanced, Stade Brestois, but they have a real penchant for ensuring that games are played in a manner that suits them. They stick to what they’re good at, basically, and they got a lot more out of their attack than most at this level, comparatively speaking. I like what they give in each game. They’re bold enough to take the game to opponents, and that’s the way to go about hurting Metz right now too. They’re good from set pieces too, Stade Brestois.
Again, there’s not a lot between the two teams but at this moment in time, Stade Brestois should not be priced as long as they are. There, I’m on the away win with draw no bet cover at 6/5.
Verdict: Stade Brestois to win with draw no bet at 6/5.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Wolfsberger AC vs SV Ried
LASK vs SCR Altach
Rapid Vienna vs Austria Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
KV Mechelen vs Germinal Beerschot
AA Gent vs Zulte-Waregem
RSC Anderlecht vs Standard de Liege
Kortrijk vs KV Oostende
Bulgarian A PFG:
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Botev Vratsa
CSKA Sofia vs CSKA 1948 Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Rijeka vs NK Osijek
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Teplice vs Sparta Prague
Slavia Prague vs Zbrojovka Brno
Danish Superligaen:
AC Horsens vs Vejle
SonderjyskE vs FC Copenhagen
FC Nordsjaelland vs AGF
English Premier League:
Southampton vs Manchester United
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Flora Paide vs Flora Tallinn
Nomme Kalju vs FCI Levadia Tallinn
Faroese Logmanssteypid:
NSI Runavik vs HB Torshavn
French Ligue 1:
Olympique Lyonnais vs Stade de Reims
Racing Club Lens vs Angers SCO
Lorient vs Montpellier HSC
Metz vs Stade Brestois
AS Monaco vs Nimes Olympique
OGC Nice vs Dijon FCO
AS Saint-Etienne vs Lille OSC
German Bundesliga:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Hertha Berlin
Mainz 05 vs TSG Hoffenheim
German Bundesliga 2:
Heidenheim vs Hamburger SV
Hannover 96 vs Holstein Kiel
Nurnberg vs Greuther Furth
Hungarian Liga 1:
Mezokovsed-Zsory vs Diosgyori VTK
Budapest Honved vs Puskas FC
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Netanya vs Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Hapoel Kfar Saba
Italian Serie A:
SS Lazio vs Udinese
Bologna vs Crotone
AC Milan vs ACF Fiorentina
Cagliari vs Spezia
SSC Napoli vs AS Roma
Italian Serie B:
Reggiana vs Cremonese
Cosenza vs Salernitana
Dutch Eredivisie:
Vitesse Arnhem vs Fortuna Sittard
FC Groningen vs Willem II
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs FC Utrecht
Heracles Almelo vs AZ Alkmaar
PSV Eindhoven vs Sparta Rotterdam
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK vs Haugesund
Bodo/Glimt vs Rosenborg BK
Kristiansund vs Stromsgodset
Mjondalen vs Stabaek
Sandefjord vs Odd
Valerenga Oslo vs Sarpsborg 08
Portuguese Liga 1:
Gil Vicente vs Rio Ave
Portimonense vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Boavista vs Belenenses
Sporting Braga vs Farense
Portuguese Liga 2:
Academica de Coimbra vs Sporting Covilha
Estoril vs Vizela
Arouca vs FC Porto II
Russian Premier League:
Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast vs PFC Sochi
FK Ufa vs Tambov
Rubin Kazan vs CSKA Moscow
Spartak Moscow vs Rotor Volgograd
Spanish Primera Liga:
Barcelona CF vs CA Osasuna
Getafe vs Athletic Club
Celta de Vigo vs Granada CF
Real Sociedad vs Villarreal CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Ostersunds FK vs IFK Goteborg
Helsingborg vs Falkenberg
Varberg vs Malmo FF
Sirius vs Elfsborg Boras
BK Hacken Goteborg vs Orebro
Mjallby Solvesborg vs Djurgarden
Swiss Super League:
Lausanne Sport vs Young Boys Bern
Lugano vs FC Basel
Turkish Super Lig:
BB Erzurumspor vs Antalyaspor
Alanyaspor vs Konyaspor
Kasimpasa vs Genclerbirligi
Fenerbahce vs Besiktas JK
Enjoy your free betting tips!