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Saturday sees Saint-Etienne face off with Montpellier in a Ligue 1 clash at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Saint-Etienne currently remain rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, while Montpellier are riding high in sixth place after an excellent run.
Which of these sides will come out on top this weekend?
Saint-Etienne vs Montpellier Head-to-Head
After a shocking run of just two wins in 17 games, it came as no surprise to see Saint-Etienne dispense with boss Claude Puel in early December.
However, new manager Pascal Dupraz hardly started off on the right foot in his own right, losing his first three games in charge. In their last match, though, Saint-Etienne defeated Angers, and will now hope to turn things around.
If they want to escape relegation, though, they’ll need to improve in all areas. They have scored just 19 goals thus far – the second-least of any side in Ligue 1 – while conceding 43, giving them the second-worst defense.
Montpellier, meanwhile, have been in fantastic form in recent weeks, with boss Olivier Dall’Oglio – who took over in the summer – really stamping his qualities on his side.
They have won five of their last seven games, and while it seemed like they were heading for a slide when they lost their first two games of 2022, their most recent league match saw them overcome Monaco 3-2 in a great showing.
Most recently, Montpellier were eliminated from the Coupe de France by Marseille, who overcame them via a penalty shootout.
The most recent fixture between the two sides saw Montpellier win 2-0, and they also defeated Saint-Etienne on their last visit to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in November 2020.
Saint-Etienne form guide: W-L-L-W-L
Montpellier form guide: W-L-L-W-L
Saint-Etienne vs Montpellier Team News
Saint-Etienne
The home side have a number of players who are doubtful for this match. This includes two Cameroon internationals who remain at the Africa Cup of Nations, as well as others with various injuries.
Injured: Bakary Sako, Saidou Sow
Doubtful: Gabriel Silva, Abdoulaye Bakayoko, Romain Hamouma
Suspended: Mahdi Camara
Unavailable: Harold Moukoudi, Yvan Neyou
Montpellier
Montpellier have two men suspended for this game, while a handful of others are likely to miss out with injuries.
Injured: Thibault Tamas
Doubtful: Valere Germain, Maxime Esteve, Pedro Mendes
Suspended: Junior Sambia, Teji Savanier
Unavailable: Ambroise Oyongo
Saint-Etienne vs Montpellier Predicted XI
Saint-Etienne predicted XI (3-4-3): Paul Bernardoni, Timothee Kolodziejczak, Eliaquim Mangala, Mickael Nade, Zaydou Youssouf, Sada Thioub, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Yvann Macon, Ryad Boudebouz, Wahbi Khazri, Denis Bouanga
Montpellier predicted XI (4-4-2): Jonas Omlin, Arnaud Souquet, Nicolas Cozza, Mamadou Sakho, Mihailo Ristic, Florent Mollet, Jordan Ferri, Joris Chotard, Stephy Mavididi, Nicholas Gioacchini, Sepe Elye Wahi
Saint-Etienne vs Montpellier Prediction
Saint-Etienne have bolstered their ranks with a handful of new players in the recent transfer window, and they did win their first game in some time against Angers recently.
However, Montpellier are one of Ligue 1’s form sides right now. With their fluid attack being in excellent form thanks to the understanding between Mavididi and Wahi, it’s hard to see them slipping up here.
The prediction, therefore, is an away win.
Prediction: Saint-Etienne 0-2 Montpellier
