St Etienne vs Strasbourg – Despite their disparities in league standings, Saint-Etienne and Strasbourg meet on Sunday afternoon as two of Ligue 1’s best teams.
The visitors, who are in fourth place, have won five of their past six games, while Saint-Etienne, who are in 18th place, has won three of their last four.
While Strasbourg did not begin the season as the season’s surprise package, they are now widely viewed as such as they push for Champions League qualifying.
They have won seven of their previous nine games, with their most recent victory coming last weekend when they defeated Angers 1-0.
Kevin Gameiro scored the game-winning goal in the match, giving him four goals in a row and bringing his season total to nine.
Julien Stephan, the team’s head coach, will be pleased that their past two victories have come by the slimmest of margins, a response to a 4-3 loss at Bordeaux.
Les Bleu et Blanc have crucial matches against Nice and Monaco coming up, but Stephan will underline that his players must focus all of their efforts on defeating a considerably improved Saint-Etienne team.
Les Verts were heavy favorites to be relegated to Ligue 2 after losing seven more league games between the turn of the year and the new year.
Three consecutive wins under newly-appointed coach Pascal Dupraz, on the other hand, have come out of nowhere, and they are just a couple of victories away from escaping trouble in the short term.
Their most recent victories came against Angers, Montpellier, and Clermont, respectively 13th, 11th, and 15th in the standings.
St Etienne vs Strasbourg – Team News:
Romain Hamouma, who replaced Lucas Gourna-Douath at halftime last week, might be selected into the Saint-Etienne starting lineup.
Denis Bouanga could replace Arnaud Nordin in the starting lineup, although Adil Aouchiche is expected to remain on the bench as a substitute.
Stephan may decide to keep the same starting lineup that started the game against Angers.
While Habib Diallo is an attacking alternative, Stephan’s decision to continue with Gameiro and Ludovic Ajorque would be surprising.
If Stephan wants to give his team a new look at left wing-back, Anthony Caci is a viable option.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Sacko, Mangala, Nade; Thioub, Boudebouz, Hamouma, Kolodziejczak; Camara; Bouanga, Khazri
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Seis; Perrin, Nyamsi, Caci; Guilbert, Thomasson, Prcic, Sissoko, Lienard; Ajorque, Gameiro
St Etienne vs Strasbourg – Head-to-Head:
Our Prediction: Under 3.5 Goals
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