Preview: Nice vs Saint-Etienne - prediction, team news, lineups

With their top-flight status in jeopardy, Nice will welcome Saint-Etienne to Allianz Riviera on Friday in the second leg of the Ligue 1 relegation playoff tie.

The opening leg between these two on Tuesday produced a 0-0 result, leaving it all up in the air in this upcoming fixture.

Match preview

From a place in Europe this past season until now it has been a huge fall from grace for Nice, who are on the verge of dropping down into Ligue 2.

That would be a huge disappointment for a side that finished in the top five of Ligue 1 in two of the past three top-flight campaigns.

Claude Puel’s men are winless in their last six matches across all competitions, failing to find the back of the net in two of their last three.

A defeat on Friday would mark the first time this century that the club from southern France drop down into the second tier of French football, with Nice finishing two points off away from Ligue 1 safety and eight above an automatic relegation.

They went unbeaten in their last three Ligue 1 outings at home but did not win a single top-flight encounter at Allianz Riviera this year.

Les Aiglons have won their last three home games against Saint-Etienne across all competitions, and most recently eliminated them from the Coupe de France last December 2-1.

Nice are fresh off losing the Coupe de France final to Lens last week (3-1) and could suffer the same fate as Reims last season, with the latter losing in the relegation playoffs to Metz after Paris Saint-Germain beat them to capture the Coupe de France.

After a season away from the top flight, Saint-Etienne are potentially just one game away from returning to Ligue 1.

To get there, they will have to do something they have not done in Ligue 2 since February- win a match away from home.

Philippe Montanier’s men lost their final two affairs as the visitors in that competition, and failed to score more than once in any of their last four games.

Defensively, Saint-Etienne are looking solid at the moment, keeping a clean sheet in their previous three matches played across all competitions, drawing 0-0 with Rodez and Nice, beating the former on penalties.

Their last playoff match away from home ended in a 1-1 draw against Auxerre in 2022, when they dropped down into Ligue 2 after a shootout defeat in the decisive match of that tie on home soil.

The former 10-time Ligue 1 champions and European Cup runners-up wound up just two points below Le Mans for the final automatic promotion as Saint-Etienne lost three of their final four Ligue 2 affairs.

Les Verts have only beaten Nice once at Allianz Riviera this decade, claiming a 1-0 triumph against them in 2021.

Nice Ligue 1 Playoffs form:

Nice form (all competitions):

Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 Playoffs form:

Saint-Etienne form (all competitions):

Team News

Mohamed-Ali Cho has a goal contribution in two his last three competitive matches against Saint-Etienne, netting once in an 8-0 thumping versus Les Verts in 2025.

On the Saint-Etienne side, Paul Eymard has a broken foot, Mahmoud Jaber is recovering from surgery and Florian Tardieu should be available despite a sore calf.

Nadir El Jamali is unlikely to feature due to a knee injury, and Zuriko Davitashvili who led them with 14 goals in Ligue 2 this past season has only scored once in his last six competitive fixtures.

Nice possible starting lineup:

Diouf; Mendy, Bah, Oppong; Clauss, Sanson, Boudaoui, Abdi; Cho, Diop; Carlos

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:

Larsonneur; Pedro, Le Cardinal, Bernauer, Appiah; Gadegbeku, Kante; Moueffek, Davitashvili, Boakye; Stassin

We say: Nice 0-0 Saint-Etienne (Saint-Etienne win on penalties)

The pressure is on Nice to get a result in this game, and although they had an impressive Coupe de France run, we believe their nerves will get the better of them on Friday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.