Laval preview

• Just 1 win all season has seen Laval drop inside the relegation zone and their form isn’t very good.
• Les Tangos are the lowest scoring team in Ligue 2 with only 6 goals to their name.
• On loan striker from St Etienne, Dylan St Louis has scored 3 of those goals in just 6 appearances. He’s very classy but they have very few others who cause much danger in the final third.
• Laval don’t lose that often at home and have a knack of picking up draws against some of the bigger teams. They will approach this game as the underdog and probably sit back.

Brest preview

• The Brittany outfit are top of the table after beating Strasbourg 2-1 last weekend. Brest have lost just a single fixture all season.
• They remain unbeaten away from home but their road form isn’t as strong. Nevertheless, 4 out of 5 draws, many of which were at difficult locations is still a fairly strong effort.
• Key playmaker Bruno Grougi remains injured. Brest will also be without both of their starting fullbacks, Gaetan Belaud & Louis Nganioni due to injury.
• They have other options to fill these positions, but it’s likely they could be vulnerable on the wings if Laval can take advantage.

Conclusion & betting analysis

• Brest are the better team although Laval are slight favourites on a DNB line. I’m a little surprised at this and I expected the visitors to be a -0.25 favourite.
• This is never an easy place to visit and Laval will probably frustrate Brest a lot tonight. However, the league leaders would probably be disappointed if they didn’t pick up 3 points.
• The goal line is set low, between 1.75 and 2, which makes the overs slightly tempting. Brest have scored in every single match bar one this season.
• Laval are a low scoring side, but usually manage to find the back of the net at home, and might be able to take advantage of the Brest fullback absences.
• All things considered, I’m willing to risk backing over 1.75 goals. Even if only two goals are scored, then this bet would result in a half win.
• I think Brest will ultimately find a way to claim victory. But I’ll leave them alone because this sort of game is a potential ‘banana skin’ at a tricky ground.

Prediction: 1-2

Recommended bet 1 unit: Over 1.75 goals @ 1.75