CA Bastia-Istres

Istres did both us and themselves a big favour last week with that 3-1 defeat of Brest and as we are discussing both teams today, that is a pretty good place to start....
 

I would like to take the over here, everything points to it apart from one thing and that is that Brest have scored just three goals in nine starts, seven of which came against teams outside the top 7 and that is simply not good enough, for all their faults Istres usually find a goal or two at home and in on loan striker Geoffrey Malfleury have a potent front man, who has scored five in nine appearances since arriving from Le Havre.

That was a huge result for Istres, but the scoreline was flattering, they could and should have been behind before taking the lead and some of their defending was again very poor. This is something we have discussed previously, last time was ahead of their trip to Chateauroux at the end of last year ....You can see the goals from the Istres-Nimes match on this link, it is not for the faint hearted, especially if you appreciate good defending, but shows an excellent team spirit from Istres and the good shape of Geoffrey Malfleury , who scored a hat-trick and as most of you know, "I loves me" a striker in form ! His signing might just be the piece of business which gives the visitors a chance of survival and he will surely pose a big threat tonight with Chateauroux short in central defensive areas. However, and you knew it was coming, Istres are not very good at the back themselves and have not kept a cleansheet on the road in 14 starts and conceded two or more in six of their last seven, at an average of 2.43 per game.

They have kept just one cleansheet in seven starts since and that came against a team who played 50+ minutes with ten men and they also faced two lower level opponents in that sequence. Their budget is tiny and I believe, only superior to CA Bastia, so this is most definitely the battle of the "have nots", in a league where there are some well funded teams. Anyway, Istres have lifted themselves up to 15th, but are one of five teams separated by only a single point and they do not have either the resources, or defensive ability to pull away from this group , if they are to survive, it will be by the skin of their teeth and decided by their ability to score goals. This is a relegation six pointer, between two struggling teams and that normally means goals and given that and the current trend in Ligue 2 and the generous looking odds offered, that is how I am leaning .

The hosts are in deep trouble, seven points adrift at the foot of the table, but a shock win at highflying Nancy last week has given them a lifeline and their fragile confidence got a further boost in midweek with an extra time win over Niort in the cup.They have only scored nine goals all season, but they have not been facing a backline as suspect as Istres every week and four goals in the last seven days hints at better to came from the hosts offensively and they have to gamble today. Edit:Geoffrey Malfleury is injured for Istres, this is very late news andhe  might be out for several weeks, I have scaled down stakes considerably (1.75 to 1.25 units, but still like this bet)  1.25 units "over" 2.5 goals 2.23 asian line/Ibramarket.... there is bigger on offer elsewhere if you shop around.

Bastia CA : Lombard (cap.), Philippon - Phojo, Oswald, Mam.Camara, C.Fabre, Salis, Rouamba, Marty, Moizini, Mba, Rivas, Fourtier, Grimaldi, Al.N'Diaye, Pastorelli.

Istres : Balijon, Lejeune - Doumbia, Kehiha, Le Goff, Tardieu, Jeunechamp, Keita, Leroy (cap.), Dabo, Diarra, Bosqui, Ba, Boulaya,Matheus.