Saint-Etienne take on Marseille in a Ligue 1 match at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday.
Saint-Etienne are currently 12th in the table, while Marseille have more to play for as they chase European qualification in sixth.
Will Marseille pick up some valuable points here, or can the hosts spring an upset of sorts?
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Head-to-Head
Saint-Etienne picked up an impressive win last weekend, defeating Montpellier 1-2 despite falling behind in the fifth minute.
The win was Saint-Etienne’s third in their last five games, a sequence that has seen them climb from 16th place to 12th place in the table.
Claude Puel’s side remain wildly inconsistent overall, but they’re definitely capable of beating any opponent on their day. They’ve been scoring much more goals in recent weeks too – with 11 in their last five matches.
Meanwhile, Marseille have continued to improve under new boss Jorge Sampaoli, and are now tied on the same points – 56 – as fifth-placed Lens.
If they can overhaul Lens then they will qualify for the first edition of the Europa Conference League. That would represent a fairly positive end to the season after the disastrous conclusion to Andre Villas-Boas’ reign.
Marseille are now on a run of just one loss in their last eight games, and drew with Strasbourg 1-1 last weekend.
Interestingly, Saint-Etienne defeated Marseille 0-2 earlier in the season, giving them their first win over OM in five attempts.
Saint-Etienne form guide: W-W-L-L-W
Marseille form guide: W-D-W-W-D
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Team News
Saint-Etienne
Three of Saint-Etienne’s players have been ruled out for the remainder of 2020-21, while Yvan Neyou is also expected to miss out.
Injured: Yvann Macon, Anthony Modeste, Jessy Moulin
Doubtful: Yvan Neyou
Suspended: None
Marseille
Marseille have two defenders doubtful for this match thanks to injuries.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Hiroki Sakai, Jordan Amavi
Suspended: None
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Predicted XI
Saint-Etienne predicted XI (4-4-2): Etienne Green, Mathieu Debuchy, Harold Moukoudi, Pape Abou Cisse, Gabriel Silva, Arnaud Nordin, Mahdi Camara, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Denis Bouanga, Wahbi Khazri, Romain Hamouma
Marseille predicted XI (3-4-3): Steve Mandanda, Leonardo Balerdi, Alvaro Gonzalez, Duje Caleta-Car, Pol Lirola, Florian Thauvin, Pape Gueye, Luis Henrique, Arkadiusz Milik, Dario Benedetto, Dimitri Payet
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Prediction
Marseille will definitely come into this game looking for a win to cement themselves in a potential European spot. They’ve got the players to pull it off.
Saint-Etienne looked good against Montpellier last weekend, but they’re still inconsistent and may find it difficult against a dangerous Marseille attack.
Therefore, an away win is the prediction here.
Prediction: Saint-Etienne 0-1 Marseille