Saint-Etienne v Man United: Stats point to value in Les Verts win

Manchester United may have somehow chalked up a 3-0 victory against Saint-Etienne at Old Trafford, despite the visitors matching their hosts for much of the game. But that margin of victory is actually one of several signs pointing to a second-leg win for Les Verts.

With United having a comfortable first-leg lead under their belt, it seems highly unlikely Jose Mourinho will field his strongest team for the return tie at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, while the hosts will be desperate to start on the front foot and claw their way back into the tie.

That’s backed up by the Red Devils’ approach to their EFL Cup Semi-Final against Hull City, where they took a 2-0 lead and a patchwork squad to the KCOM Stadium for the return leg, only to lose 2-1 on the night to the outsiders.

But it’s not just United’s lead which has us tipping up the Ligue 1 outfit. Saint-Etienne have conceded just two goals in their last eight home games, with the most recent match on their own patch ending in a 4-0 demolition of Lorient.

One man who’s impressed during that run is winger Kevin Monnet-Paquet. He’s netted in three of his last seven outings, and looks well priced to score anytime here at 3/1, with 9/1 on offer for him to open the scoring.

But while we think there’s real value in backing Saint-Etienne to win on the night, it’s also hard to look past the 11/10 for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to find the net. He scored a hat-trick in the first leg and now boasts an incredible career 17 goals against Les Verts – more than he’s managed against any other club.

In the match betting, Christophe Galtier’s men look good for victory at 5/2, with 11/10 for a Red Devils win and 9/4 on offer for the draw.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing