Seeking their first points of the new Ligue 1 campaign, Saint-Etienne will host Lille on matchday four at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Friday.
Les Verts are bottom of the table after suffering a 4-0 hammering versus Brest before the international break, while Les Dogues dropped to sixth when Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat them 3-1 last time out.
Match preview
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It has been far from an ideal beginning to the Ligue 1 campaign for Saint-Etienne, who have yet to show they belong with the teams at this level after two seasons away from top-flight football.
After three matchdays, Les Verts have yet to find the back of the net, something which had never happened to this club in Ligue 1 before this season.
This is the second time in club history that they have begun a top-flight campaign with three successive defeats, with the first time being in 2009-10, narrowly avoiding relegation by finishing 17th on that occasion.
Another defeat on Friday would mark the first time the former 10-time Ligue 1 champions begin this competition with four consecutive losses.
Olivier Dall'Oglio's men ended the previous Ligue 2 campaign on a seven-match unbeaten run at home, but dating back to their last stint in Ligue 1 (2021-22), this club have lost three straight encounters at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in this competition.
In two of their previous three meetings with Lille, Saint-Etienne have kept them off the scoresheet, but they have not beaten Les Dogues in a top-flight fixture since a thumping victory on the final matchday of the 2017-18 campaign (5-0).
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After weeks of smooth sailing at the beginning of the season, Lille have cooled off in Europe and Ligue 1 since late August.
Bruno Genesio was unbeaten in his first five matches in charge across all competitions since the beginning of August, but his side enter this match having lost their previous two competitive fixtures.
Their three goals conceded versus PSG are the only ones they have given up domestically this season and as many as they had allowed in their four previous top-flight encounters combined, dating back to the 2023-24 campaign.
At the same time, only three points currently separate them from the league-leaders PSG, while they are just a single point behind Marseille and Nantes for an automatic place in the Champions League group stage next season.
Losing a Ligue 1 contest has been rare for this side, suffering just three defeats since March 2023, and losing consecutive matches in this competition is even rarer, something they have not done since matchday 35 and 36 in 2021-22.
Les Nordistes have points in seven consecutive Ligue 1 affairs against Saint-Etienne, though their last victory at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard occurred in March 2019 (1-0).
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Team News
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Several Saint-Etienne players may not be available on Friday with injuries, such as captain Anthony Briancon (knee), Yvann Macon (meniscus) and Thomas Monconduit (thigh).
Despite previously sustaining a muscle injury, Ben Old got some playing time in the two friendlies for New Zealand during the international window, while Augustine Boakye is questionable with a muscle strain of his own.
Aimen Moueffek is back training with the first team following a minor knock and saw the field in their previous encounter, coming on for Lamine Fomba in the second half against Brest.
Lille could be missing Samuel Umtiti due to a sore knee, Nabil Bentaleb is dealing with an illness and Ismaily has a meniscus injury.
Jonathan David, their leading goalscorer over the past three Ligue 1 campaigns, was on international duty for Canada earlier this week but should be back in time for this match, while Angel Gomes featured in their previous encounter for the first time since his collision in their opener against Reims.
Edon Zhegrova had the only goal for them in their defeat versus PSG last time out, his first of the 2024-25 domestic campaign.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Macon, Batubinsika, Abdelhamid, Cornud; Appiah, Amougou; Moueffek, Davitashvili, Tardieu; Wadji
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Diakite, Mandi, Alexsandro; Meunier, Andre, Gomes, Gudmundsson; Zhegrova, Cabella; David
We say: Saint-Etienne 0-2 Lille
Despite losing their previous encounter, there are a lot of encouraging things we have seen from Lille this season, whereas Saint-Etienne look unnerved at the back and without much creativity going forward.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
