Strasbourg vs Angers

Stade de la Meinau is the venue as Strasbourg and Angers go head-to-head in their 2021/22 Ligue 1 curtain-raiser.

Searching for their first top-half Ligue 1 finish since 2000, Strasbourg barely stayed in the top division last season, finishing two points clear of the relegation play-off spot. The appointment of Julien Stéphan, who coached Rennes in the past three years, is a statement of intent, though. Stephan’s first challenge will be to bring his side’s disastrous winless streak in home top-flight H2Hs that dates back to 1980/81. Strasbourg’s overall home displays require an upgrade, considering their poor return of four home Ligue 1 triumphs in 2020/21 represents their worst such tally since 2005/06 (two that time). Adding to this sentiment, ‘Les Coureurs’ fizzled off last season with four defeats from the final five home Ligue 1 fixtures (D1) despite getting on the scoresheet on all five occasions.

Angers’ seventh successive Ligue 1 campaign starts on the back of a mediocre 13th-place finish that saw them escape the relegation play-offs by four points. Despite keeping his side in the top-flight for the sixth year running, the long-serving coach Stéphane Moulin step down from the managerial seat after a ten-year tenure. Gérard Baticle, who took over the reins, will have to work on plugging Angers’ leaky backline that conceded an average of 1.53 goals per Ligue 1 fixture in 2020/21. Getting off the mark first could come in handy, especially considering ‘Les Scoïstes‘ finished last season as one of only three Ligue 1 sides to avoid defeat in all matches in which they opened the scoring (W10, D3). A high-scoring affair is on the cards, with three of their last four league H2Hs held here seeing over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet.