ES Setif vs MC Alger Prediction: A must win contest for both teams

In the 29th round of competition in the Algerian Ligue 1, ES Setif and MC Alger will go head-to-head at the Stade 8 Mai 1945 in Setif. The host club comes into this contest having lost their previous two games in a row, while the away squad, MC Alger, is coming off a victory that broke a winless streak of four games with a nail-biting goal against MC Oran.

ES Sétif had a winning record of one game against HB Chelghoum Laid, a losing record of two games against MC Oran and El Bayadh, and two draws against JS Kabylie and Paradou AC in their previous matches. ES Sétif were able to score seven goals while only allowing six goals to be scored against them in those matches. During the current league season, ES Sétif have scored 1.29 goals on average in every game they have played. In terms of disciplinary actions, the home team has been issued 51 yellow cards and 2 red cards. This season, ES Sétif have maintained an average possession of the ball of 52.55% of the time.

MC Alger comes into this match having won one of their previous five matches against MC Oran, lost three of those matches to JS Kabylie, USM Alger, and Paradou AC, and drawn with HB Chelghoum Laid. In those matches, the visiting club only managed to score two goals while giving up six. When playing away from home, MC Alger had a goal scoring average of 0.68 and a goals against average of 0.68 per match. The squad was shown a total of 43 yellow cards and 2 red cards for disciplinary reasons. The percentage of time that MC Alger has had possession of the ball during the season stands at an impressive 51.67% on average.

ES Sétif and MC Alger have a relatively great head-to-head history, as they have met 34 times in the previous seasons, with ES Sétif winning 14 games and MC Alger winning 11 games. There were nine games that ended in ties. In the head-to-head matchups between the two teams, ES Sétif scored 43 goals, while MC Alger only managed to score 36.

Due to the fact that the two teams are almost exactly on the same level, this should be a very competitive clash. In spite of the fact that ES Setif will have the advantage of playing at home for the second game in a row, they still need to play well, especially on defense, in order to avoid yet another loss. Additionally, while MC Alger have not posed much of a threat since the beginning of June, they may still have trouble winning this competition. As a result, I believe that both teams will share the spoils, while I do not expect this match to produce any goals.