Saint-Etienne and Monaco Face Off in Crucial Ligue 1 Clash
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Saint-Etienne and Monaco are set to face off at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in a fixture with huge importance at both ends of the Ligue 1 table on Saturday night. According to Sports Mole, the hosts are staring down the barrel at relegation, while Adi Hutter’s Monaco are in danger of throwing away their place in next season’s Champions League.
Match Preview
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This represents another devilishly difficult assignment for a Saint-Etienne side in serious trouble of making an instant unwanted return to Ligue 2 next season. Eirik Horneland’s men were helpless to stop the Strasbourg machine from rolling on last weekend, losing 3-1 in Alsace despite putting up a spirited effort on the road, where they have struggled greatly all season. As Sports Mole reports, poor away form is the reason why Les Verts find themselves 17th heading in gameweek 32, but the gap to Le Havre in the relegation playoff spot is just one point.
Recent history is against Saint-Etienne, because over the last five seasons in Ligue 1, the team that has been second-to-last with three games remaining has been directly relegated on each occasion. That means ASSE will need to pull something special out of the bag at home once more, where they beat Lyon in their last outing at the Guichard. The hosts also drew 3-3 with Brest in the home game prior to that victory, meaning they have remained unbeaten in two successive matches at the Guichard on four separate occasions this season, but not once have they managed to make it three in a row.
Monaco are fearsome opponents, though, because they have won four in a row in this fixture, and have scored four goals on both of their last two trips to the Guichard in Ligue 1. However, the visitors are faltering at the worst possible time, winning just one of their last four league games, and falling from second to fourth in the space of two weeks.
Team News
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After losing his place in Saint-Etienne squad, defender Dylan Batubinsika is now missing with a calf injury, so Dinamo Zagreb loanee Maxime Bernauer will continue at the back. Pierre Cornud and Augustine Boakye are also sidelined with injury at present, and Benjamin Bouchouari has joined them on the treatment table with a back injury over the past week or so. Lucas Stassin failed to get on the scoresheet in their defeat at Strasbourg a week ago, but he will still be the man they look to for goals, as he has nine in his last 10 appearances.
Monaco will be without important midfielder Lamine Camara due to an accumulation of yellow cards, so after being left out of the squad entirely two weeks ago, Al Musrati could now be in line to start, despite the recent return of Soungoutou Magassa. Aleksandr Golovin is set to be the only absentee for the visitors, with Kassoum Ouattara on the comeback trail, and for the fact Jordan Teze returned to first-team action after a three-month layoff last week.
Predicted Lineups
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Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Appiah, Bernauer, Nade, Petrot; Moueffek, Ekwah, Tardieu; Cardona, Stassin, Davitashvili
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Vanderson, Singo, Kehrer, Caio Henrique; Zakaria, Al Musrati; Akliouche, Embolo, Ben Seghir; Biereth
Prediction
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According to Sports Mole, Saint-Etienne are much stronger at home while Monaco are weak on their travels, so despite the whopping gap between the two in the Ligue 1 standings, the hosts should not be discredited. Monaco have proven tough to break down in recent weeks, but Les Verts will look to the performance of Le Havre last week for inspiration, and they could well take a valuable point. Sports Mole predicts a 1-1 draw between the two teams.
In conclusion, the upcoming match between Saint-Etienne and Monaco is set to be a crucial fixture in the Ligue 1 table. With both teams fighting for different reasons, it promises to be an exciting encounter. As reported by Sports Mole, the match could have significant implications for the relegation battle and the Champions League qualification.
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