Metz vs Bastia Prediction & Betting Tips (19 August)

Despite a rather decent second half of the season and the exploits of its scorer George Mikautadze, FC Metz was unable to maintain its place in the elite, just one year after its rise. The Moselle club only finished in 16th place in the final ranking in Ligue 1 before falling to Saint-Etienne in the play-offs 1-1 in the first leg, losing 1-2 AP on the return leg. The Garnets are therefore back in a championship that they know well and where they are used to performing. There is no doubt that they should once again aim for the upper echelons of the rankings. In preparation, the men of Stéphane Le Mignan, who arrived to take the place of Lazlö Bölöni, walked against Jeunesse d'Esch 4-0, Villefranche 3-0 and Wehen Wiesbaden 0-2, before conceding a draw to the UNFP selection 0-0, before a big success against Torino 0-3 and a draw against Amiens 1-1. For its part, Bastia experienced a very complicated first part of the season last year before accelerating with the arrival of spring to leave the teams fighting for survival.

Finally, Sporting was able to grab a decent 13th place with a nice lead of 9 points over the first relegated team and they will no doubt hope to be able to avoid all kinds of scares this season. A big program of friendly matches awaited the Corsicans this summer. They won against Gallia Lucciana 3-0 before losing to Ile Rousse 1-2 and Rodez 2-1. Next, Bastia beat Annecy 3-1 and ACA 1-2.

The star scorer of this Metz team, Georges Mikautadze (13 goals in 20 matches) has packed his bags to join Olympique Lyonnais. Another big loss to report is that of midfielder Lamine Camara who took over as manager of AS Monaco. Also gone were the undesirables Caillard (free), Tchimbembe (free) and Yade (Sheriff Tiraspol). Conversely, the flagship recruit of this transfer window on the Garnet side is midfielder Deminguet (Strasbourg) who arrived on loan. The club also made use of its African pool by bringing in young midfielder Alpha Touré from Generation Foot. Also note the return of center forward Elisor who returns from a rather successful loan to Troyes. No injuries or suspensions to highlight. Bastia has also seen its share of departures.

Indeed, defenders Keita (Reims, return from loan), Dramé (Estrela) and Souboul (Ajman Club), midfielder Siby (Malmö, return from loan) and attackers Santelli (Ajaccio), Conte (Young Boys) and Charbonnier (end of career) have all left Sporting. This is also the case for top scorer Alferala (12 goals) who took charge of Legia Warsaw. The goalkeeper Zacharie Boucher has definitively committed to Troyes. In the opposite direction, the Corsicans were able to convince the central defender Akuesson (Versailles), the left side Mazikou (Châteauroux), the midfielder Etoga (Dijon), the wingers Cissé (Nancy) and Boutrah (Vitesse) as well as the center forward Rodrigues to commit. The starting right-back and Luxembourg international, F.Bohnert, is out.