Reims vs Strasbourg Prediction: Vieira’s miserable run to continue

Two managers well-known to these shores meet in Ligue 1 on Friday night (20:00), as Will Still’s Reims host Patrick Vieira’s Strasbourg at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.

Two defeats in a row has dented the momentum Reims had built up after four wins in their previous six, while Strasbourg are still searching for a victory after six games without one.

Team News

On-loan Manchester City defender Josh Wilson-Esbrand missed Reims’ 3-1 defeat at Rennes and the Englishman is set to miss the rest of the calendar year. Marshall Munetsi, who has two goals and three assists to his name in Ligue 1, was forced off in the first-half at Roazhon Park and will miss out on Friday.

Strasbourg will regain the services of Marvin Senaya after the 22-year-old sat out Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Marseille through suspension, but Karol Fila is still out injured.

Match Odds

Reims are fancied at 4/5 to return to winning ways against Strasbourg, who are 10/3 to win for the first time since September 24. The draw is available at 11/4.

Both teams to score is priced at 8/11 and it’s 4/5 for over 2.5 goals.

Reims to win and under 3.5 goals @ 7/5

The home side may have lost their last two games but the first of those was against a Kylian Mbappe-inspired PSG, and the second against a Rennes side desperate to impress a new manager. Therefore, I prefer to look at their form over the season so far, which has been impressive.

Reims are currently fifth in the table after finishing 11th last year, where they were four places and 11 points better off than their opponents on Friday.

Strasbourg are already seven points behind Reims this term after winning just three times in 2023/24, two of those in the first three games. They’ve been poor away from home, with only Rennes, Marseille and Lorient collecting fewer points than their tally of four.

Meanwhile, in five games on their travels, Vieira’s side have scored just twice, conceding nine. There have been fewer than 3.5 goals in all of those games, while Reims’ 3-1 defeat to Monaco is the only time this season there have been over 3.5 goals at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.

I think Reims win this one, and tipping under 3.5 goals raises the odds to a decent level.

Reims to win to nil @ 2/1

You can take the first suggestion a bit further and back a Reims win to nil at 2/1.

Strasbourg have struggled to score many all season – only Lyon and Clermont have fewer than their nine in Ligue 1 – while no club has scored less than their two on the road.

They’ve blanked five times this season, while four of Reims’ six wins this season have seen them keep a clean sheet. They’ve already kept out Lorient, Lyon and Clermont – the three clubs currently occupying the bottom three – at home, and I fancy them to add the side fifth-bottom to that list on Friday.

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