Sunday sees Troyes face off with Saint-Etienne in a Ligue 1 clash at the Stade de I’Aube.
Both of these sides are in the bottom half of Ligue 1, with Troyes currently sitting in 14th place and Saint-Etienne all the way down in 19th.
Can newly-promoted Troyes pick up a win here, or will Saint-Etienne give themselves a lifeline?
Troyes vs Saint-Etienne Head-to-Head
After a very poor start to their campaign saw them pick up one point from four games, newly-promoted Troyes have improved their form recently.
They’ve now got three victories to their name and 13 points overall, a total which has been able to move them up the table to 14th place.
However, their last two games saw them fail to win as they drew with Rennes and then found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Lens.
Meanwhile, Saint-Etienne were rooted to the bottom of the table after failing to win their first 12 matches, at one point going on a run of five straight losses.
However, boss Claude Puel managed to hold onto his job, and in their final match before the recent international break, Saint-Etienne overcame Clermont 3-2, picking up their first victory of 2021-22.
However, even that win came via two injury-time goals – meaning that Saint-Etienne’s troubles may not be over just yet.
The last time these sides met – in April 2018 – Saint-Etienne picked up a 2-1 victory. They have beaten Troyes on four of their last six meetings.
Troyes form guide: L-W-W-D-L
Saint-Etienne form guide: D-L-D-D-W
Troyes vs Saint-Etienne Team News
Troyes
Troyes have a real issue with injuries right now, with no fewer than eight players likely to miss the game due to injury.
Injured: Tristan Dingome, Yoann Touzghar, Yasser Larouci, Philippe Sandler, Florian Tardieu, Karim Azamoum, Metinho
Doubtful: Tanguy Banhie Zoukrou
Suspended: None
Saint-Etienne
Mahdi Camara is suspended for the visitors, while four other players are out with injuries.
Injured: Gabriel Silva, Yvan Neyou, Harold Moukoudi, Alpha Sissoko
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Mahdi Camara
Troyes vs Saint-Etienne Predicted XI
Troyes predicted XI (5-4-1): Gauthier Gallon, Issa Kabore, Adil Rami, Jimmy Giraudon, Yoann Salmier, Giulian Biancone, Youssouf Kone, Rominigue Kouame, Xavier Chavalerin, Mama Balde, Renaud Ripart
Saint-Etienne predicted XI (4-3-3): Etienne Green, Yvann Macon, Saidou Sow, Timothee Kolodziejczak, Miguel Trauco, Arnaud Nordin, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Aimen Moueffek, Ryad Boudebouz, Jean-Phillipe Krasso, Wahbi Khazri
Troyes vs Saint-Etienne Prediction
Saint-Etienne should bring a lot of momentum into this game thanks to their win over Clermont, but whether they can follow it up is another matter.
Troyes will be no pushover to face, but they have scored the least goals in Ligue 1 this season – something that should give hope to the visitors, who have conceded the most in the competition.
Overall this one should be close to call, but we expect Saint-Etienne to edge it and continue their resurgence.
Prediction: Troyes 0-1 Saint-Etienne