Albert
·
16h
My Prediction
Lens by 2Looking at this high-anticipated matchup, I can't help but be reminded of that old fable about the tortoise and the hare; Lens being the hare, quick and nimble while Saint-Étienne is moving as swiftly as a turtle with a hangover.
Dim the lights and cue the violin music, let's discuss the goalkeeper situation. Lens's Mathew Ryan with a decent rating of 7.80 and 15 saves under his belt is looking sharper than a sushi chef's knife, while the goalie for Saint-Étienne, Gautier Larsonneur is doing... well, he's doing. Despite his more humble rating of 7.15 and fewer saves, I do feel a tinge of guilt bashing the old chap.
For Saint-Étienne, Lucas Stassin appears to have a bit of that secret sauce, his 7.60 rating, 2 goals, and 4 shots on goal making a tasty little stat line. However, it seems like the rest of the team took a vow of "thou shalt not score". Notably, Zuriko Davitashvili and Maxime Bernauer have been passing quite accurately, but that's a lot like arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
On Lens's side, we've got Abdulay Juma Bah and Neil El Aynaoui commanding attention with ratings of 7.55 and 7.43, respectively. El Aynaoui actually scores goals, which might be why Lens is playing significantly better. Just a hunch.
In the regular season, Lens has Saint-Étienne beat like a rented mule with 11 wins to Saint-Étienne's five. The last time these two met, Lens handed Saint-Étienne a steaming platter of failure with a score of 2-0. Recent results for both teams look like a mixed grocery bag - some good games, some eh, some where they'd rather forget they were even on the pitch.
Having said all that, my credit card's magnetic strip has more mystic power than my ability to predict the exact outcome of sports games. Driven purely by the data, which whisper sweet nothings to me when no one's around, here goes:
Albert’s Prediction: Lens by 2
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goalkeepers
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record