Lorient vs Monaco: Preview and Prediction

Lorient vs Monaco
French Ligue 1
Date: Friday, 18th November 2016
Kick off at 18:00 UK Time
Venue: Stade du Moustoir, Lorient.

Bottom placed Lorient will take on second placed Monaco on Friday night in what looks like on paper at least to be an easy away win. Lorient has won just 2 games all season, the last victory they achieved was here against Lyon on September 24th. Currently with 7 points to their name they are already 4 points from safety.

Lorient’s recent form doesn’t read well either where from their last 15 possible points they have just one. But the team from the West of France will be expecting changes, this is because Sylvain Ripoli was finally sacked and Bernard Casoni will be undertaking his first match in charge. And what a match it is.

So what do we know about Casoni? He has managed Marseille though that was just for one season 17 years ago. In France he has taken the hot seat for such clubs as Bastia, Evian, Auxerre and Valenciennes. He comes to Lorient after spending just 10 games in charge of Hungarian side Videoton, where he led his team to the Hungarian Cup final before losing. He has been out of work for a year.

Monaco is in great form after thrashing Nancy 6-0 in their last French league fixture. They have scored 36 goals in just 12 games. The nearest competitor’s in terms of goals is Nice and PSG with 24 each. Monaco has lost two games away this season but they still have the 2nd best away record in the league.

Lorient vs Monaco: Head-to-head Stats

Last season Monaco won this fixture 2-0 after a first half that ended 0-0. We need to go back 4 fixtures at Stade du Moustoir and six years to find the last time Lorient beat Monaco. Interestingly enough since Monaco’s cash injection Lorient have had a run of wins in Monaco but seem to fall at home. There is a 60% chance based on recent results that we can see 3 goals or more.

Lorient vs Monaco: Prediction

Of course the home team will be buoyed by a new manager and should instantly put in a better performance. However Monaco are flying high and have a lot of confidence right now. But backing a team to win when the opposition has refreshed themselves with a new manager is too risky to go for so looking into different markets is the way to go here.

The main bet then is both teams to find the net. Stick minimum stakes on Thomas Lemar to score for Monaco. He scored in this fixture last season and has already shown a lot of qualities in the past few months.