Saint Etienne vs Nantes Prediction & Betting Tips

Very different recent runs

Saint Etienne's Ligue 2 form has been strong through August and September: a heavy win over Grenoble, a comfortable one over Clermont, and only a single defeat mixed in with a draw. Their goal difference in that spell backs up the table position.

Saint Etienne: 20 completed matches; Nantes: 20 completed matches.

Saint Etienne

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

39

Conceded

28

Difference

+11

Nantes

20 matches

Win

25% 5 / 20

Draw

30% 6 / 20

Loss

45% 9 / 20

Scored

25

Conceded

24

Difference

+1

Nantes have had a rougher time. In their last seven league matches they've won twice, drawn once and lost four times, including a 5-2 defeat away at Rodez. As of late September, that's a side still searching for consistency this season.

Comparative Team Statistics: Saint Etienne vs Nantes

A history of draws, but from a different era

These two have met 20 times in recent history, almost all of it in Ligue 1, and roughly half of those matches ended level. The most recent meeting, back in January 2025, was another 1-1.

That pattern of tight, drawn games is notable, but it comes from a spell when both clubs were in the top flight. It doesn't tell us much about how they'll match up now, in a different competition and with different squads.

A big early gap in the table

Saint Etienne currently sit top of Ligue 2 with 16 points from seven games, having won five and lost just once. Nantes are down in 15th with seven points from the same number of matches, having won only twice.

That's a wide early-season gap for two clubs meeting at this stage, and it lines up with how each side has been playing lately.

Saint Etienne's position at the top isn't a fluke of one or two results; it's built on a strong run through their opening seven games.

Where the goals have come from

Saint Etienne's scoring has been shared around rather than resting on one man. Cardona, Boakye and Ballo have each scored four goals in seven appearances, and Cardona also leads the way for assists. That spread of threat fits with a side averaging well over two goals a game.

Saint Etienne:

Best scorers:

I. Cardona - 4

A. Boakye - 4

T. Ballo - 4

Best assist providers:

I. Cardona - 4

A. Boakye - 3

T. Ballo - 2

Penalty cards:

A. Boakye x 2

Nantes:

Best scorers:

W. Younoussa - 2

Penalty cards:

F. Guilbert x 3

Nantes' main source of goals in this sample is Younoussa, with two in five matches, a lighter return than anything Saint Etienne can call on. On the disciplinary side, Nantes' Guilbert has picked up three yellow cards in six games, worth keeping in mind given how often these fixtures have been feisty.