France: Ligue 2 betting preview : Niort- Angers

Chamois Niortais winger Florian Martin
We have opposed Niort in a couple of road games recently, most notably at Nimes, when they suffered a heavy defeat, ahead of that game I wrote:
 
Niort are in great form themselves and an eight match unbeaten run has taken them onto the edge of the promotion places. However, they are stronger at home , lost here heavily last season and arrive without injured right winger Luigi Glombard (15-4-1), they have won just 2 from 11 when he plays 20 minutes or less, yet won 8 from 14 when he plays an hour or more. Hugely experienced Senegalese midfielder Mouhamadou Diaw (23-2-2) is also missing through suspension and the pair will be missed.
 
They lost that 4-1, but bounced right back with a big win of their own over Chateauroux and a hard earned point at Nancy, they have been very tough to beat at home all season ( 7-6-1) and three points today would be hugely valuable, taking them not just above Angers, but up into 3rd in Ligue 2. You can see extended ( 7 minutes) highlights of that 1-1 draw with Nancy on this link. The hosts scored a wonderfully crafted goal (01.22 into the recording) and you could see again how quickly they turned defence into attack, more about that in a later preview. I was quite impressed by Niort too and they were also dangerous on the break and showed terrific team spirit.  Angers look vulnerable right now , they have not won in four (three draws), or scored in two on the road, which included a 1-0 defeat at Brest three days ago, meaning they have that quick turnaround to deal with , teams have struggled all season to handle Monday-Friday league games and now there is one day less between fixtures. They might have gone to Brest with this fixture at the back of their mind, but a win there would have given them a five point advantage coming into this and 13 of the 14 who played at home to Creteil two games ago, featured on Tuesday, so I hardly think that had given priority to this fixture. This is Angers fourth start in 11 days and only Niort's third in March, they have been able to give this their undivided attention for 7 days and will strip far fresher and you would feel, better prepared, actually the away side have played twice, Saturday-Tuesday, since the last Niort outing. Angers have also toiled through two recent home matches against what were the bottom two teams at the time, after midweek fixtures, edging past CA Bastia 1-0 courtesy of an 89th minute winner and drawing 1-1 with Laval.
 
Team news wise it is as you were for the visitors and an identical squad to Saturday, Olivier Auriac was left out on Tuesday, but returns today. Niort are boosted by the return of left winger Florian Martin (23-4-7) they have won just one in five without him, two in nine when he plays 30 minutes or less.
 
I like the fresher team in this promotion six pointer. 1.5 units Niort -0.5 ball 1.97 asian line/Ibramarket.
 
There are no stand out stats for me in this game.
 

Niort : Delecroix, Roche - Letzelter, Lahaye, Chelle, Pallois, Bong, Bernard - Koukou, Diaw, Roye, Martin, Glombard, Houla - Lafourcade, Sala.

Angers : Malicki - Angoula, Bouka Moutou, Boyer, Konate, Thomas - Auriac, Boufal, Eudeline, Frikeche, Gamboa, Keita - Ayari, Blayac, Socrier, Yattara.

 
 
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