Pau know they are in for a back-breaking journey to Valenciennes and their Stade du Hainaut. This match preview has all the knowledge you need before the fixture.
- Valenciennes have the most dropped points from leading position (17) in Ligue 2
- Pau have played more matches over 2,5 goals away than home.
These teams have little in common geographically as Pau have to travel 900 kilometers to reach their opponents. The trip home will be especially long if the match ends in defeat.
We should expect both teams to be fresh and ready for this match, as there is some time since both teams last played. Let's have a look at how the teams are doing!
Valenciennes form and stats
Valenciennes's struggle is real here at Stade du Hainaut with only 11 points collected from 12 Ligue 2 games. The win-draw-lost numbers are ugly: 3-2-7.
Valenciennes shared the glory with Quevilly Rouen in their last match, an away game that ended all square 1-1. The striker Bonnet outperformed all the other players in that game and got a match rating of 7.8 out of 10. Bonnet scored one goal.
Ahead of that match, Valenciennes lost 1-3 at home to Toulouse.This is expected to be a close game, with Valenciennes perhaps considered small favourites due to their home advantage. Looking back at earlier matches similar to this one (expected to be close with Valenciennes as a small favourite), we find 13 games. Valenciennes has won six of these, drawn three and lost four.
Valenciennes are certainly not overdoing their scoring at home in league matches, having created 16 goals in 12 games. It's worth mentioning that 8 of these goals has been scored in their last three home matches.
Pau form and stats
The hunting on away grounds haven’t been very fruitful for Pau so far with only 10 points returning home. The records show 2-4-6 (win-draw-lose).
Pau have succeeded in guarding their own goal lately, led by their goalkeeper Stefan Bajic. It's been 220 minutes since they last conceded in Ligue 2.
Impressive finishing from Koffi secured the home win 1-0 against Caen in their previous game. Defender Koffi was the best team player with a rating of 8.05. Koffi scored one goal, hit one key pass and won 2 of 4 duels.
Ahead of that match was the victory versus Dijon at their stadium, the result 1-0.So, this is expected to be a close game, an even contest. Looking at earlier matches with Pau playing away and similar expectations, we found 15 relevant matches. Results were four Pau wins, four draws and seven defeats.
The attacking power of Pau when travelling is not overwhelming with 9 goals scored from 12 league matches away. Pau have conceded 18 goals in these games. There's been improvement defensively lately, as only 2 of these goals has been conceded in their last three away matches.
Head 2 Head
The duelists have battled before this season: Pau - Valenciennes 1-1. Head-2-head stats last three meetings: one - one - one (Valenciennes wins - draws - Pau wins). As for goals, two matches ended with three or more goals (over 2,5), one had two or less.Top Goalscorers
  B. Guillaume 6 goals |   V. Lobry 5 goals |  E. Assifuah-Inkoom 5 goals |
Valenciennes missing players
Pau missing players
| Valenciennes | Pau | ||||||
| Total | Home | vs | Statistics | Stat | vs | Away | Total |
| 25 | 12 | 4 | Played | P | 3 | 12 | 25 |
| 6 | 3 | 0 | Won | W | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 9 | 2 | 2 | Drew | D | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 10 | 7 | 2 | Lost | L | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 25 | 16 | 2 | Scored | S | 3 | 9 | 27 |
| 35 | 24 | 8 | Conceded | C | 4 | 18 | 28 |
| 84% | 92% | 75% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 92% | 96% |
| 68% | 83% | 75% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 100% | 67% | 68% |
| 48% | 75% | 50% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 33% | 42% | 40% |
| 20% | 42% | 25% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 0% | 17% | 12% |
| 12% | 25% | 25% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 8% | 4% |
| 60% | 75% | 50% | BTTS | BTTS | 67% | 50% | 40% |
| 28% | 17% | 25% | Clean Sheets | C S | 0% | 17% | 36% |
| 28% | 17% | 50% | Failed to Score | F T | 33% | 42% | 28% |
| 4.8 | 5.2 | 5 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5.2 | 4.4 | 5.8 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.3 | 6.2 | 4.9 |
| 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.1 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 8.3 | 10.2 | 10 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 7.3 | 6.6 | 8.8 |
| 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.2 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 2 | 2.4 | 3.7 |
| 32% | 36% | 22% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 50% | 31% | 29% |
| 8.7 | 9.8 | 9.8 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 11.3 | 11.5 | 10.3 |
| 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.8 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 5.3 | 4.5 | 3.9 |
- Pau have played more matches over 2,5 goals away than home.
- Valenciennes have played more matches over 2,5 goals home than away.
- Valenciennes have the fewest points (11) at home in Ligue 2
- Valenciennes have the most conceded goals (24) at home in Ligue 2
- Valenciennes have the most dropped points from leading position (17) in Ligue 2
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Toulouse | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 52 | 21 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 20 | 9 | 31 | 48 |
| 2 | Paris | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 48 |
| 3 | Ajaccio | 25 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 45 |
| 4 | Sochaux | 25 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 28 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 44 |
| 5 | Auxerre | 25 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 37 | 27 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 | 13 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 42 |
| 6 | Le Havre | 24 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 35 |
| 7 | Niort | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 26 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 35 |
| 8 | Nîmes | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 32 | 32 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 35 |
| 9 | Pau | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 28 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 18 | -1 | 35 |
| 10 | Guingamp | 25 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 27 | 33 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -6 | 31 |
| 11 | Amiens SC | 25 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 31 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 30 |
| 12 | Dijon | 25 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 29 | 34 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 17 | -5 | 30 |
| 13 | Rodez | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 26 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 30 |
| 14 | Caen | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 31 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 29 |
| 15 | Bastia | 25 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 25 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 1 | 29 |
| 16 | Quevilly Rouen | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 23 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 20 | -11 | 29 |
| 17 | Valenciennes | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 25 | 35 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -10 | 27 |
| 18 | Grenoble Foot 38 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 20 | -14 | 25 |
| 19 | Dunkerque | 25 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 19 | -12 | 24 |
| 20 | Nancy | 25 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 27 | -25 | 20 |
