Sunday lunchtime brings us the Ligue 1 clash between Saint-Etienne and Marseille at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard with the hosts virtually safe from relegation but there’s still much at stake for the visitors.
Saint-Etienne occupy 12th place on the Ligue 1 table and hold an eight-point cushion ahead of third from bottom outfit, Nantes, but with three matches remaining, the hosts need a result in one of their last three matches to be mathematically safe from the drop.
Flying through today's training session💥💥 pic.twitter.com/XCDxW7VJfi— Olympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) May 6, 2021
Flying through today's training session💥💥 pic.twitter.com/XCDxW7VJfi
The hosts bounced back from two defeats on the trot against PSG and Brest last time out by recording a welcome 2-1 win away at Montpellier which Saint-Etienne will be hoping can bring them some momentum into this upcoming clash against Marseille.
However, Saint-Etienne have found home wins hard to come by in this season’s Ligue 1 campaign as the hosts have managed to win just four of their 17 matches played to date at their Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
And following early back-to-back wins at the start of the season, the hosts have registered just two further wins from their subsequent 15 matches.
Saint-Etienne are expected to be without first-choice keeper Moulin, defenders Macon and Trauco, and forward Modeste for this clash.
Marseille are currently fighting it out with 5th placed Lens for the final top five spot in the French top flight and the visitor’s form has definitely improved in recent weeks as Marseille have suffered just one defeat out of their last eight matches overall.
That loss was a 3-0 defeat away at Nice but five wins during this period has helped maintain Marseille’s push for European football next season and they sit level on 56 points apiece with Lens heading into this weekend’s Ligue 1 action.
Recent wins against Rennes, Brest, Dijon, Lorient and Reims should give Marseille the necessary impetus to go and get a result on Sunday against Saint-Etienne, and having won three of the last four meetings against their hosts, Marseille look in reasonable shape here.
Marseille are expected to be missing defenders Sakai and Amavi for this trip to Saint-Etienne but goalscoring midfielders, Payet and Thauvin will be keen to fire their side to a vital three points here.
To sum up, Marseille should hold the edge in this one.