Home And Away: Metz no match for Nantes

Daily Tipping / Jonno Turner / 20 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Sylvain Wiltord is one of several fairly big names at Ligue 2 side Nantes

Jonno Turner is concentrating on the second divisions in France and the Netherlands for his Monday night picks...

It's just been on the news that a pound coin was thrown onto the pitch at Ibrox this weekend. Police are trying to determine whether it was a missile or a takeover bid.

Our friends north of the border have been in the news a lot recently. David Cameron's attempts to keep them from gaining independence looked to have hit trouble this morning when Mel Gibson was seen boarding a plane to Glasgow.

Our first tip of the week sees us visit France, as Nantes welcome Metz to Stade de la Beaujoire in Ligue 2.

The hosts have been performing well of late, and four wins from their last five sees them occupying fifth place. And Les Canaris' boss Landry Chauvin has seen his side win seven in eight on their own patch, which will give them confidence as they welcome Metz to the west coast this evening.

Five clean sheets in eight in front of their fans shows that the home side are building from a solid base, and that stands them in good stead to launch a late assault on the top three.

The visitors go into this game in 14th, but are just three points outside the drop zone, and could be dragged into the mire if results don't turn sharpish. Les Grenats are winless in five and have scored just one goal in their last four league games, which simply isn't good enough.

And just two wins in six away from home has seen Dominique Bijotat's side drop like a stone - at a time when form really counts. Nantes have not lost to Metz in eight meetings since 2004 - and I can't see that changing tonight.

Bet 1: Nantes (HOME) to win @ [2.0]

My girlfriend's getting angry because I won't stop my flamingo impression, so I've had to put my foot down.

We're focussing on the Dutch Jupiler League for our second tip of this miserable Monday, and it's a classic case of in-form versus out-of-sorts, as high-flying Den Bosch travel to Emmen's Unive Stadium looking to continue their recent excellent form.

The visitors have won nine of their last 11 league games, and seem to have hit form at the perfect time. They now sit fourth in the league, just three points behind third and with a game in hand.

And three straight clean sheets will give coach Alfons Groenendijk confidence as his team travel to lowly Emmen this evening.

The hosts have struggled to find positive momentum all season and are currently on a miserable run of one win in five in the league.

And Rene Haka's boys are just four points from the bottom now, in real danger of slipping to the foot of the table if their luck doesn't turn.

With just three wins in their last 14 home league games, and 11 conceded in their last six as hosts, Emmen will be dreading this encounter against one of the form sides in the division.

Den Bosch have won the last three meetings between the clubs, scoring 11 goals in those games, and conceding just two.

Bet 2: Den Bosch (AWAY) to win @[1.63]