Busy schedule to hamper quality for Marseille

St. Etienne take on Marseille as they look to recover their desperate season so far under Claude Puel. The Greens finished five points ahead of Marseille in fourth last term, clinching qualification to the Europa League to which they were relatively poor, only managing four points in the group stage. Despite their obvious faults their 15^th position in Ligue 1 is not as bad as the table may appear, they are only six points off of fourth which is more than the gap between them and the relegation zone, meaning there is still time for the fans’ patience to be rewarded.

Recent form

Second placed Marseille have won the last three head-to-heads, though Claude Puelhas won five of his last seven encounters with Wednesday evening’s visitors, setting him up well for a tactical tussle with Andre Villas-Boas. St. Etienne are third bottom of the table for the last five games, only taking three points from the last available 15, amidst progression to the quarter finals of the Coupe De France.

Marseille have only conceded once in their last 496 minutes of football on the road, they have interestingly scored six injury time winners this campaign, so the Greens will need to keep their heads in the closing exchanges. Seven of St. Etienne’s last eight outings have brought under 2.5 goals, another game of that sort is on the cards here.

Fatigue

Both sides have had a busy schedule of late and such that will continue in the coming weeks. However, points are crucial to give the Greens some breathing space and momentum to address their extremely subpar league position. Each of these have easier Ligue 1 matches at the weekend and so will most likely prioritise this fixture in terms of squad rotation. With more quality across the pitch that stands OM in particularly good stead.

Danger man

As he always seems to do, Dimitri Payet has stepped his performances up a gear with the prospect of a major tournament squad spot with the Frenchnational team on the horizon. The 32-year-old has contributed nine goals and five assists from the left flank so far this season and will be looking to kick on at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, in what will be a fiery midweek atmosphere.

Though Marseille are in better shape at the moment, the cup run could inspire St. Etienne and they have quality in key areas with the likes of Wahbi Khazri and Denis Bouanga going forward. However, it is stronger to go with a goals bet here and with the visitors having kept four clean sheets in their last five, it is an under tip here.

St. Etienne – Marseille Betting Tip

Under 2.5 goals with bet365 at odds of 8/11.

Bet Under 2.5 goals on Bet365