Metz vs Bastia prediction 19.08.2024 | Ligue 2

• Competition: Ligue 2
• Date: Monday, 19th August, 2024
• Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20:45 CEST
• Venue: Stade Saint-Symphorien (Metz)

In the last game of the Ligue 2 first round, last year's Ligue 1 side, Metz, will welcome Bastia at Stade Saint-Symphorien in eastern France in Metz.

After spending three consecutive seasons at Ligue 1, Metz suffered relegation last year. They were in a really good position to avoid a relegation battle. Still, after four straight losses, they eventually had to play in the relegation playout and lost to St. Etienne on a 4:3 aggregate. Now, in Ligue 2, they are definitely one of the primary candidates for promotion. Currently, the bookies see them as the third or fourth-best team in Ligue 2, offering odds around 7.5 for them to win the title.

Bastia went through some difficult years after being relegated from Ligue 1 a few years back. They even dropped to the fourth tier but managed to consolidate a bit and are now playing their fourth consecutive season in Ligue 2. Last year, they finished 13th but were not that far away from the Playoffs, as 5th-placed Paris FC were nine points away. Over the Summer, some good players left, and we have doubts about the ones who arrived. However, even though they might appear weaker on paper, they had a good pre-season, and there are definitely things to be optimistic about.

Metz vs Bastia pick: Over 2.5 goals

Since these teams suffered changes over the Summer, it is hard to predict what to expect from them. However, during the pre-season, both teams mainly played high-scoring games. In seven friendlies, Metz were over 2.5 goals on four occasions, while Bastia went over this line in all six matches.

Bastia looked pretty good in the pre-season, especially in the later games, as they won against good teams like Ajaccio and Annecy and even a Ligue 1 team, the Angers. In those last three matches, they scored seven goals (2.3 per game) but also failed to keep a clean sheet.

On the other hand, the hosts should be among the best teams in the league, and we expect them to score a couple of goals against most teams in Ligue 2. Last year, at Stade Saint-Symphorien, they scored two (or more) goals against excellent teams like Marseille, Reims, Nantes, Monaco, Lens, and Rennes.

Considering all the above, we expect a high-scoring game, most likely with both teams scoring.