Saint-Etienne is coming into this match playing in awful form this season, but they have also been trending more to the under. They have lost all 3 of their matches to start the season and they have gone under 2.5 goals in 2 of their 3 matches. They are coming off of a 4-0 loss to Brest in their last match away from home, but their defense was much better in their first 2 matches as they allowed 3 goals in those 2 matches. Their attack has been awful all season though, scoring no goals in their 3 matches so far. Their only home match this season was a 2-0 loss to Le Havre that stayed under 2.5 goals as well. They are going up against a Lille side that has been in much better form this season, but they have also been trending to the under in their recent matches. Their last 2 matches both went over 2.5 goals and both were losses, but prior to that they had won 3 straight as well as 4 of their last 5 matches and they had 4 straight matches stay under 2.5 goals as well. When playing away from home, they have gone under 2.5 goals in 2 of their last 3 matches, including their only away match in Ligue 1 this season which was a 2-0 win over Reims. They have allowed 5 goals in their last 2 matches, but both matches were away from home with 1 being against PSG, the strongest team in the league still, and the other being in Champions League against Slavia Praha in a leg which they had a 2-0 lead on aggregate already. This is their 1st match coming back from the international break but they also have a Champions League match with the start of the league phase next week so they are not going to be focused on this away match against a much weaker newly promoted side. Lille has kept 3 clean sheets in their last 5 matches and after giving up 5 goals in their last 2 matches, their focus will be to lean on their defense in this match. Saint-Etienne does not have a strong attack and they have not scored a goal this season so they will struggle to break down this Lille defense even being at home here, but Saint-Etienne is also going to lean more on their defense here considering the strength of their opponent. This is going to be a low scoring and defensive match that stays under 2.5 goals.
France Ligue 1: Saint-Etienne/Lille under 2.5 goals, Rot. 203322