Annecy vs Clermont Foot Prediction

Right then, let's have a look at this Ligue 2 mid-table tussle between Annecy and Clermont Foot. It's not exactly the title decider, is it? But there's three points on offer and both sides will be keen to climb away from the lower reaches.

Annecy come into this off the back of a nice 2-0 home win over Amiens just a few days ago. That'll have boosted the mood after a couple of tough results, including a narrow 2-1 loss away to a very good Reims side. Their home form is a bit of a mixed bag – they've beaten the likes of Bastia and drawn with Boulogne, but also lost to Le Mans and Grenoble here. The pattern seems to be they struggle against the better sides but can do a job on teams around or below them. Sitting in 9th, they're a comfortable mid-table outfit.

Clermont Foot, on the other hand, are down in 12th and their recent travels make for grim reading. They've lost three of their last six away, including defeats to Nancy and Bastia – not exactly giants of the division. Their only away win in that run was a 1-0 at Guingamp back in October. More telling is their lack of goals on the road – they've averaged a paltry 0.67 goals per game away from home. They did manage a decent 2-2 draw at high-flying RED Star, but that looks like the exception rather than the rule.

When these two met earlier in the season, Annecy nicked a 1-0 win. History is on their side too, with two wins and a draw from the last four encounters.

So, what's the game likely to look like? Annecy will fancy their chances at home against a side that struggles to score on the road. Clermont will probably be set up not to lose, given their patchy away form. Annecy score about 1.2 goals per game at home, and Clermont concede about one per game on their travels. Clermont score less than a goal a game away. Put simply, I can't see a goal-fest here.

The bookies have Under 2.5 Goals priced at 1.62. Given Clermont's toothless away attack and Annecy's solid-enough home defence, that looks like a bit of value to me. Both teams to score? Possibly, but Clermont's away games have seen both teams score in only a third of their last six trips.

Key Points:

Annecy are decent at home against lower-half sides, coming off a 2-0 win.

Clermont Foot struggle massively for goals away from home (0.67 per game).

The last head-to-head finished 1-0 to Annecy.

Clermont's recent away games are low-scoring: 5 of their last 6 had under 2.5 goals.

• The goal expectancy models point to a tight game with around 1.9 total goals.

In summary, this has the makings of a cagey, low-scoring affair. Annecy might just edge it, but the smarter play looks to be on fewer than three goals. I'm tipping Under 2.5 Goals.