Strasbourg – Clermont

Strasbourg are trying to gain a foothold in the Eurocup zone. Will Clermont be able to prevent it?

On Matchday 37 of the French championship, Strasbourg play home side Clermont. The match has tournament significance for both teams. However, the home side are in a tougher position. They are fighting for a place in the European competitions for next season. Strasbourg are sixth in Ligue 1, just three points behind fourth-placed Nice and five points behind third-placed Monaco. At the same time, Strasbourg are on the heels of Lens, two points behind. It is therefore difficult to see where Strasbourg will end up. However, I have great sympathy for this team this season. They have a solid, well-balanced squad. And the coach managed to bring an organized football. Strasbourg cannot be called a very attacking team, but it can competently reorganize the game, turn on pressure or, conversely, successfully deter their opponents. In the previous round, they quietly earned a 1-0 win over Brest. But Strasbourg are particularly strong at home. In their last home game they gave PSG a battle and snatched a 3-3 draw. In eight consecutive matches at home, Strasbourg are undefeated. In that time, there have only been three draws. In total, Strasbourg have won ten games at home, drawn five times and lost only three times. Clermont, on the other hand, have five away wins, three draws and ten defeats. They sit in 16th place in Ligue 1 and have basically secured themselves, as the gap from the play-off zone is already five points. In the previous round, Clermont beat Montpellier 2-1 at home to slightly improve their position. In the first leg, Clermont lost 0-2 to Strasbourg. Back then, Strasbourg got one of the goals from Gameiro, who with 11 goals shares second place on the list of the team's scorers with Diallo. And Ajork have 12 goals. This trio carries the biggest threat for Strasbourg's opponents. Although Clermont's top scorer, Baio, has already scored 13 goals. Lately, he has noticeably slowed down. Neither side have any big losses. The only thing to note is the suspension of Ogier for Clermont.