Amiens have started their season on fire following promotion and we have seen instances of back to back promotions several times in recent years, but my feeling pre season was that they would struggle and ahead of their opener with Reims I wrote ...........
The hosts were the third placed promoted team and the last three to come up in that position, have finished last (twice) and second , so an exciting time of things looks likely at one end of the division or the other. Amiens have one of the smaller budgets in Ligue 2 and will come into this season, you would feel, with survival as their sole objective, but the same was said about Red Star and BEBP last season, who were never in trouble and GFC Ajaccio the year, before who were promoted, so they will take encouragement from that. They were defensively strong last season, especially on the road, where they only lost three times, but they conceded far more freely on home soil, when the onus was on them to make the running.
There is a big difference in quality between National and Ligue 2 and Amiens look a little short at the back at this level, goalkeeper Regis Gurtner struggled with relegated Boulogne (his only full season in L2) and was dropped towards the end of that campaign. Yacine Haddou is the only out and out right back in the team and he was in the Nimes squad relegated in 2011, centre back Khaled Adenon has played three seasons at L2 (relegated once, 4th from bottom in another) and Mathieu Fontaine his partner, was deemed surplus to requirements by Reims a few years back. He is injured, Adenon suspended, they tried a defensive midfielder and left back in the middle of the back line in their final warm up game, but have clearly thought better of that and signeed a 20 yo cental defender who has never played any sort of league game, Haddou is not in the squad today. You get the picture, at full strength they have a backline who have never really made the grade at this level and they are not even able to call upon them today, no right back, players out of position and short of experience, this looks a tough L2 baptism.
They drew that 1-1, but were helped massively by Reims being reduced to ten men after just 5 minutes. That is how I feel the season has played out for Amiens, a lot has gone their way and they have been helped by good fortune and by an easy schedule/playing teams totally out of form at the time, that can happen over ten games or so, but will catch up with you over a full season a nd the 1-0 home defeat to Troyes prior to the break, has given them a lot to think about over the last fortnight. It was all Troyes, who missed two sitters, hit the woodwork and dominated, allowing Amiens just a couple of long range efforts until the 94th minute. Amiens were very vulnerable to set pieces and run ragged on both flanks, especially the left, if you had shown be my pre season notes and then that game, I would have said they must be bottom of Ligue 2, or at least in the drop zone and they will have to do a lot to convince me that they are even a top half team.
BEBP have impressed me, certainly far more than the visitors and ahead of a 2-1 home win over Le Havre I wrote ...........
Bourg-en-Bresse are back to their free and easy ways, play a very open style, are comfortable on the ball when in possession, quite pleasing on the eye and look vulnerable when defending, in other words, they are fun to watch ! Last season their games produced an average 2.79 goals and only relegated Creteil conceded more. They met a pair of teams with a defend first, ask questions later approach in their two opening games and it took a while to return to normal service, but their last five starts have seen 20 goals with both scoring in each and any time they face a team who will not sit back, we should see goals and plenty of them. The two league meetings with Le Havre last season produced nine goals with eight for HAC and it is hard to see the visitors coming with just a point in mind. They have lost their way after a great start to their season and they are now five league and cup games without a win, through which they have conceded 10 goals in three home starts (!) and we are talking about the pre season promotion favourites here.
There is no doubt that Le Havre are the stronger squad, but BEBP probably have a little more confidence right now and do play with a bit of a swagger, both to score. GOALS !
They have not conceded in three subsequent games (which is a bonus), including two on the road, picking up five points and for me, they are simply the better team. Central defender Khaled Adenon (pictured) is suspended for Amiens and ever present defensive midfielder Guy N'Gosso injured, which should compound all those defensive issues (see above). BEBP to win by 2+ he said feeling bold !
1.75 units Bourg-Peronnas -0.25 ball 2.13 asian line/Sportmarket.
Bourg-en-Bresse Peronnas : Fabri, Callamand, N’Simba, Digbeu, Martin, Ponroy, Dikamona, Abdoulaye, Nirlo, Gamiette, Berthomier, Damour, Del Castillo, Bègue, Boussaha, Hoggas.
Good Luck.
