Saturday 26/04/2014, 20:00, France Ligue 1, Round 35, Evian vs St Etienne

Evian vs St Etienne Betting Preview

Evian did a fine job last week by defending 88 minutes at Parc de Princes, against the vastly superior PSG, but conceded a silly goal that snapped their 4 game undefeated streak. They are still in a decent position to avoid relegation, with 5 points above the dangerous area and would gladly settle for a draw tonight. St Etienne came to accept the fact that the Champions League is out of reach and are now focusing on finishing 4th, ahead of Lyon and Marseille.

Evian vs St Etienne Betting Odds

At Bet365

Evian 3.60, Draw 3.50, St Etienne 2.00

Evian vs St Etienne Betting Tips

The hosts have just two strikers capable of posing any threat to St Etienne and it is very likely for coach Dupraz to use them both tonight. Sougou and Berigaud have scored a combined 13 goals this season, but they didn't get the chance to play together too much as Evian uses a single striker on the road.

Away at PSG it made perfect sense for them to start with four defenders, five midfielders and Berigaud upfront, as they expected to be under siege for 90 min. Against St Etienne, they should have more opportunities to score as their opponents have collected most of the points this year in front of their fans.

It is the performance on the road that prevented St Etienne from finishing higher in the standings, as they won just six games in 17 rounds. Since losing to PSG one month ago, they were invincible and collected a total of nine points, but had to settle for a draw in the most recent three rounds.

Traveling to Evian with three players injured, including top scorer Brandao means that the visitors will rely on Graden and Erdinc. They did pair up last round against Rennes but St Etienne was toothless and failed to defeat the team that was more concerned about what will happen in Coupe de France.

Key Facts

• Evian is yet to win a game at home against St Etienne but the last two matches ended undecided
• A draw tonight would be mutually beneficial, as it would keep St Etienne in the fourth place while Evian will be 90% sure to avoid relegation.

Evian vs St Etienne Betting Prediction

Evian will take more chances upfront than they did a week ago, but they have no reason to risk everything if the game heads towards a draw. By collecting a point in front of their fans, they will address most of the relegation concerns, so they wouldn't mind splitting points. They were impressive on the road and the fact that they almost avoided defeat in Paris makes it worth backing them at odds of 1.70 to win or draw.

Bet: Evian or Draw @ 1.70 with Bet365