PSG vs Saint-Etienne 25/07/20

25 July 2020

Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Etienne go head-to-head at the Stade de France in the Coupe de France final, as PSG look to extend an unbeaten run in their competitive H2Hs to 21 (W16, D4).

The ‘Parisians’ have been outstanding during the warm-up campaign preceding this clash, winning each of their three friendlies in the post-pandemic period via at least a four-goal margin. Additionally, the reigning Ligue 1 champions had put together four victories in various competitions before the coronavirus pandemic halted proceedings in Europe, netting an average of 3.75 goals across those successes. Notably, free-scoring PSG have scored over 2.5 goals in 15 of 21 games since the turn of 2020, friendlies included. Thomas Tuchel’s men enter this encounter as odds-on favorites after winning all four of their previous competitive H2Hs, three of which yielded a full-time margin of at least four goals.

Meanwhile, St. Etienne have featured in five friendly matches in the build-up to this game, enduring mixed fortunes (W3, L2), with both of their defeats during that five-game sequence coming via a single-goal margin. In turn, six of their seven domestic matches before the COVID-19 outbreak froze football in France had ended separating the sides by under 1.5 goals (W2, D2, L3), with five of them seeing both teams on the scoresheet. Also, a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal has seen ‘Les Verts’ score under 1.5 goals in seven of their last ten competitive fixtures, with just 33.33% (six) of the nine goals they scored across those games coming in the first half of play.