There is just one place remaining in Ligue 1 for next season and there are two teams who will be hoping they are playing in the French topflight in 2024/25.
The first leg of the promotion/relegation playoff final between Saint-Etienne and Metz will be played on the 30th of May at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The hosts finished 3rd in Ligue 2 on 65 points while the visitors finished 16th in Ligue 1 on 29 points.
Saint-Etienne come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Rodez in the semi-final of the Ligue 2 playoffs. There was a 5 point gap in the Ligue 2 table between the teams at the end of the season and Saint-Etienne proved that was justified.
💪 Dimanche, les petits Verts seront à Amiens pour arracher, sur la pelouse du stade de la Licorne, un billet pour la finale du Championnat de France #U17N ! Allez la #GénérationVerte ! 👊💚 pic.twitter.com/92cYnUxcXH— AS Saint-Étienne (@ASSEofficiel) May 29, 2024
💪 Dimanche, les petits Verts seront à Amiens pour arracher, sur la pelouse du stade de la Licorne, un billet pour la finale du Championnat de France #U17N ! Allez la #GénérationVerte ! 👊💚 pic.twitter.com/92cYnUxcXH
With the score 0-0 at halftime, Saint-Etienne took the lead in the 64th minute and secured their progress with a second goal at the end of the match.
The victory over Rodez means Saint-Etienne are undefeated in 6 of their 7 most recent Ligue 2 fixtures.
There have been wins over Bordeaux and Caen at home plus Grenoble Foot 38 away. There were also draws against Guingamp away and Rodez at home.
The only defeat came at Quevilly-Rouen Métropole on the final day of the regular season and proved costly in terms of automatic promotion.
Trends show Saint-Etienne are undefeated in their 8 most recent home league matches. They have won 7 of those 8 games and are undefeated against Metz in 9 of their last 10 league fixtures on home soil.
Metz make the trip to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard having lost 2-0 at home against champions Paris Saint-Germain on the final day of the regular Ligue 1 season.
PSG scored both goals inside the first 12 minutes of the match and Metz could not get back into the game.
The loss against PSG means Metz have suffered a defeat in each of their last 4 Ligue 1 fixtures. There were defeats at home against Lille and Rennes plus away to Strasbourg. We must go back to the 21st of April to find the last time Metz won a game.
Statistics show Metz have lost 3 of their last 4 away Ligue 1 matches. They have won only 2 of their last 10 away Ligue 1 games and have seen both teams score in 3 of their 4 most recent away trips in the league.
Team news and Saint-Etienne are unlikely to make many changes from the team that beat Rodez. That means Ibrahim Sissoko will start in attack with support from Irvin Cardona and Mathieu Cafaro in the wide positions.
Metz travel without the injured duo of Joel Asoro and Benjamin Tetteh.
Saint-Etienne know the importance of winning this first leg and they have a good recent record at home against Metz.
Our algorithm suggests Metz will score in this match but our prediction is for the hosts to win the first leg by a one goal margin.