Metz vs St Etienne Prediction & Betting Tips (2 June)

FC Metz already has a foot and a half in Ligue 2 after being beaten Thursday evening, against Geoffroy-Guichard. Overwhelmed in intensity and impact, the Moselle club ended up losing at the end of the match and they therefore find themselves in a very bad position before this decisive return match for their future in the elite. Quickly found in difficulty in Ligue 1, Laszlo Bölöni's men seemed to have reacted rather well by stringing together a few victories. But the last days of the championship were quite terrible for the Grenats who suffered 4 losses in a row against Lille 1-2, Rennes 2-3, Strasbourg 2-1 and PSG 0-2 and who came within a small goal of be relegated directly to the lower level without going through the dams. For its part, AS Saint-Etienne is almost at the goal.

Relegated to Ligue 2 two years ago now, this Forez team took a great step forward by winning on Thursday evening in a very warm atmosphere, being faithful to what it displayed in the 2nd part of the season in particular : enthusiasm on the offensive level but also fragility on the defensive level, particularly on set pieces. This victory also reassured everyone at the Greens after the last missed performances during the regular season. Olivier Dall Oglio's men had indeed finished in 3rd position in the ranking after having lined up 3 last matches without success against Guingamp 2-2, Rodez 1-1 and Quevilly Rouen Métropole 2-1. A few days later, the Stéphanois passed the last obstacle before these play-offs by logically winning ahead of Rodez 2-0.

Excellent in Ligue 2 last year, Jallow (3 goals in L1 this season) is still in the infirmary. His offensive partners Asoro (2 goals) and Tetteh (1 goal) have been sidelined by their coach recently. Coming out injured at the end of the first period on Thursday evening, striker Sabaly is not at all assured of being recovered for this return match. On the other hand, the Garnets will once again rely on the formidable striker Mikautadze who is a real terror for opposing defenses even if he did not score Thursday evening, even failing once on the post. The Georgian has crashed 13 times this year despite spending half a season with Ajax. During the first leg, it was defender Traoré who scored his team's only goal from a set piece.

The same elements as Thursday evening were missing on the Saint-Etienne side. Indeed, the winger Diarra, the replacement striker Wadji and the young midfielder, very little used, Cheick Fall are all on the floor, and have been for many weeks already. Slightly affected at the end of the match this week, midfielder Moueffek should be back. Olivier Dall'Oglio should undoubtedly renew his confidence in the very valuable Cardona (10 goals and 3 assists decisive) who scored his team's 2nd goal Thursday evening, while the fairly formidable scorer Sissoko (13 goals) opened the scoring. The very valuable midfielders Chambost (6 goals, 7 assists) and Cafaro (4 goals, 10 assists), author of 2 assists in the first leg, will also be operational.