Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Buoyed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nice, Metz will be aiming to give fans yet another reason for celebration when they take on Montpellier at Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien on Matchday 16. Les Grenats regained a much-needed confidence at the weekend, and a win over La Paillade could see them escape the relegation zone. Farid Boulaya continues to miss out through suspension, while both Matthieu Udol and Manuel Cabit are sidelined with injuries.
Montpellier, on the other hand, aim to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to Olympique Lyon. Anyhow, the relegation-threatened hosts want this win more than the visitors, and we predict that they are going to pick up all three points from the match. Both Thibault Tamas and Pedro Mendes are out of contention with injuries, but there are no suspended players in the away team.
Highlighted Player (Opa Nguette):
After spending his youth career at Mantes and Valenciennes, Opa Nguette made his senior debut for Mantes in 2011. In 2012 he returned to his boyhood club Valenciennes and it has to be noted that the attacker scored 8 goals in 60 appearances for the club from 2012 to 2016.
Opa Nguette is currently playing for Metz in Ligue 1 and his contract with the club expires on June 30, 2019. The pacey footballer who is capable of playing as both left and right winger has three caps for France U20 team, but he made his senior debut with Senegal. Opa Nguette played 65 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Nigeria on his debut for the Senegal national team.
The Caen attacker, who was born in Mantes-la-Jolie on July 8, 1994, scored four goals for Metz in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign. He made three assists for his teammates as well during the season and you should bear in mind that he played 33 games in the league for les Grenats.
Highlighted Team (Montpellier):
Over the years Montpellier have established themselves as a mid-table side in French Ligue 1. Montpellier are considered one of the youngest clubs in France as they were founded in 1974, but it has to be noted that a number of high-profile footballers played for the club in the past. French football legend Laurent Blanc played for Montpellier from 1981-1993 and he scored 76 goals in 24 appearances in the league for the club. Eric Cantona, Roger Milla, Carlos Valderama and Olivier Giroud played in Montpellier’s colors as well, but Pascal Baills is the player with most appearances for the club (429).
La Paillade did remarkably well to win the Ligue 1 trophy in 2012 and that is considered the club’s biggest success. Montpellier won Coupe de France on two occasions (1929, 1990), with the team beating FC Sete and FC Paris respectively in the title games. The team welcome their rivals at Stade de la Mosson and the capacity of the stadium is 32.900. In 1999 Montpellier won the UEFA Intertoto Cup.