St. Etienne play hosts to AEK Athens at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the first leg of the Europa League qualifiers on Thursday night and the match promises to be a very competitive affair.
St. Etienne Match Betting News
St. Etienne have been consistently doing well in the French top flight over the last few seasons and Kas Verts managed a decent 6th placed finish in the table last term.
Manager Christophe Galtier will be keen on his side to break into the top three in Ligue 1 during the upcoming campaign as well as do well in the Europa League, as they did last season – reaching the knockout stages.
St. Etienne will first have to qualify for the group stages though and French side’s path into the competition will surely not be easy as they will be squaring off against AEK Athens, in what should prove to be a tricky encounter.
AEK Athens Match Betting News
AEK Athens have endured a couple of terrible years due to financial turmoil and relegation but the club seems to be on their way to recovery at the moment and managed a fine 4th placed finish in the Greek Super League – just a season after their promotion into the top flight.
As a result, AEK will now be competing for a place in the Europa League and the club have gone on to appoint Temur Ketsbaia as manager to guide the club into Europe once again.
Returning to Europe would be a dream renaissance story but standing in the way of the Greek side is St. Etienne and it goes without saying that overcoming the established Ligue 1 side will not be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.
St. Etienne vs AEK Athens Match Prediction
While AEK have enjoyed a fairy tale over the last twelve months, St. Etienne do head into the clash on Thursday night as favourites due to the quality as well as European experience in their side.
The match will be a tough test for St. Etienne but they should be able to claim the desired result on the night.
