Saint-Etienne resume their Ligue 1 campaign post the international break as they entertain Marseille at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday.
The hosts failed to move out of the relegation zone as they held Troyes to a 1-1 draw in their previous league outing. They are just a couple of points behind 15th-placed Troyes and will be able to come out of the drop zone with a win here.
Marseille moved into second place in the league standings as they overcame Nice in a crucial top-of-the-table clash in their previous outing.
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Head-to-Head
The two historic rivals have met 121 times in competitive fixtures so far. Only Bordeaux have faced the hosts on more occasions (119) than Marseille in Ligue 1.
Les Phocéens have been the better side in this fixture, having recorded 55 wins against Les Verts. The hosts have 44 wins to their name while 22 games have ended in draws.
They last met at Orange Vélodrome in league action in August. The then-hosts secured a 3-1 win in that fixture.
Saint-Etienne form guide (Ligue 1): D-D-W-L-D
Marseille form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Team News
Saint-Etienne
Wahbi Khazri and Romain Hamouma are out with injuries for this game. Yvann Macon trained with the team for the first time in a month but he is not yet fit enough to take part. Falaye Sacko was injured in the game against Troyes and will be on the sidelines for at least a couple of weeks.
Sada Thioub and Yvan Neyou face late fitness tests, while Saiduo Sow's involvement in the game is doubtful. Enzo Crivelli has overcome health problems and is in contention to start here.
Injured: Yvann Macon, Romain Hamouma, Sada Thioub, Falaye Sacko, Wahbi Khazri
Doubtful: Yvan Neyou, Saidou Sow
Suspended: None
Marseille
Leonardo Balerdi has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a shoulder injury. Arkadiusz Milik has picked up an injury while on international duty with Poland and will miss the trip to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Luan Peres will serve a one-game suspension following an accumulation of yellow cards.
Injured: Leonardo Balerdi, Arkadiusz Milik
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Luan Peres
Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Predicted XI
Saint-Etienne Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Paul Bernardoni (GK); Eliaquim Mangala, Harold Moukoudi, Mickael Nade; Timothee Kolodziejczak, Mahdi Camara, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Adil Aouchiche; Ryad Boudebouz; Denis Bouanga, Arnaud Nordin
Marseille predicted XI (4-3-1-2): Pau Lopez (GK); Pol Lirola, William Saliba, Duje Caleta-Car, Boubacar Kamara; Matteo Guendouzi, Valentin Rongier, Gerson; Dimitri Payet, Cengiz Under, Cédric Bakambu
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Saint-Etienne vs Marseille Prediction
The hosts have a long list of absentees for the game and might struggle here. Saint Etienne secured a league double over Marseille last season, so the visitors will be looking to return the favor with a win.
We expect the visitors to eke out a narrow win to capitalize on the hosts' poor form and weakened squad.
Prediction: Saint-Etienne 1-2 Marseille