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Saint-Etienne will face Villarreal at the Stade Joseph-Moynat on Saturday in a pre-season friendly between the two teams. Les Verts have been promoted to Ligue 1 after a two-season absence and have now begun preparations to retain their top-flight status next season.
They kicked off their pre-season campaign against Clermont Foot last Saturday. They found themselves a goal down at the break before substitute Louis Mouton leveled the scores nine minutes from normal time.
Villarreal meanwhile had mixed results in La Liga last season and now have their sights set on a return to the continental spots next season. They kicked off their pre-season campaign against Leicester City last weekend suffering a 2-1 defeat. However, they bounced back from that on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Swiss outfit Sion featuring second-half goals from three different players new signing Pape Gueye.
Following Saturday's game, the Spanish side will take on Premier League side Nottingham Forest at the City Ground next weekend as they continue to build momentum for the upcoming season.
Saint-Etienne vs Villarreal Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
- Villarreal's last meeting against French opposition came back in March when they faced Olympique Marseille in the last 16 of the Europa League losing the two-legged clash 5-3 on aggregate.
- Les Verts are without a clean sheet in their last three games across all competitions.
- Saint-Etienne had the best defensive record in the French second-tier last season with a goal concession tally of 31.
- The Yellow Submarine conceded 65 goals in La Liga last season, their worst ever tally in the Spanish top-flight.
Saint-Etienne vs Villarreal Predition
Saint-Etienne are on a run of back-to-back draws and have lost just one of their last 10 games across all competitions. They have however struggled for results on foreign grounds of late failing to win any of their last four games on the road.
Villarreal's latest result ended a three-game winless streak and they will now be looking to build on that this weekend. They are the stronger side ahead of Saturday's game and should come out on top here.
Prediction: Saint-Etienne 1-2 Villarreal
Saint-Etienne vs Villarreal Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Villarreal
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Seven of Villarreal's last nine matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in 14 of the Greens' last 15 matchups)
