Saint-Etienne and Monaco will do battle on Saturday in a game with major implications at both ends of the Ligue 1 table.
The visitors currently sit fifth thanks to an eye-catching run of form, while their visitors are in the relegation playoff place, one point adrift of guaranteed safety.
Match preview
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Saint-Etienne have had to battle through a tough campaign, consistently finding themselves in the bottom three in Ligue 1, although they were, at least, able to improve their position with a stronger run earlier in the new year, amassing 13 points from a span of seven games between January and early March.
That was not enough to drag them away from the mix, though, as Les Verts went on to win just one of their next seven games in a run culminating in back-to-back thrashings at the hands of Marseille and Lorient.
Pascal Dupraz's side were then able to arrest their latest slump last Saturday, defeating Brest 2-1 thanks to Mahdi Camara's first-half brace after their visitors had taken an early lead.
They now head into the weekend on the back of a 2-2 draw away at fellow strugglers Bordeaux, as Denis Bouanga and Arnaud Nordin got on the scoresheet to earn them a point after initially falling two goals behind.
While that saw them drop back into the bottom three, after a victory for Clermont on the same day, Dupraz's side sit just a single point adrift of safety, and they will look to give their survival hopes a major boost on Saturday with the chance to climb out of the drop zone.
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They face a particularly tough test though, as Monaco arrive aiming for a sixth straight league win in their bid for a top-three finish.
After a mixed run of results, the visitors have kicked into gear recently, beginning with an eye-catching 3-0 victory over runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder brace and a goal from Kevin Volland.
Philippe Clement's side followed that result up with consecutive wins over Metz, Troyes and third-placed Rennes, before beating Nice on Wednesday, as Aleksandr Golovin hit the only goal of the game on the stroke of half time.
That result leaves Monaco fifth in the French top flight, with Rennes and Strasbourg only ahead on goal difference, meaning they could climb into the Champions League spots if they are able to extend their eye-catching run of form at the weekend.
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Team News
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Saint-Etienne will remain without defenders Saidou Sow and Falaye Sacko, with the duo continuing spells in the treatment room alongside Romain Hamouma and Aimen Moueffek.
Winger Denis Bouanga has arguably been the key man in attack this season, hitting eight goals and providing five assists in 29 Ligue 1 appearances.
He will again line up on the opposite flank to Arnaud Nordin, while top scorer Wahbi Khazri will hope to lead the line from the outset with young midfielder Adil Aouchiche also pushing for a starting spot.
On the back of a fifth straight win, Monaco are unlikely to make many changes to their starting XI on Saturday, with Wissam Ben Yedder and Kevin Volland forming a potent front line, having contributed combined tallies of 26 goals and 12 assists in the French top flight this campaign.
Elsewhere, young midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has caught eyes with his performances this season, featuring more than any other outfield player in the squad in league action, and he should again line up alongside Youssouf Fofana in the engine room.
Gelson Martins and Myron Boadu are also pushing for starts in attack, but Aleksandr Golovin strengthened his claim to remain in the team with a fourth league goal of the campaign last time out, having also provided an assist in each of the two games prior to Wednesday's win.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Bakayoko, Mangala, Nade; Silva, Camara, Aouchiche, Trauco; Bouanga, Khazri, Nordin
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Aguilar, Disasi, Badiashile, Henrique; Fofana, Tchouameni; Vanderson, Golovin; Ben Yedder, Volland
We say: Saint-Etienne 0-2 Monaco
Saint-Etienne are showing fight in their bid to avoid the drop, but they are coming up against a Monaco side full of confidence, and we anticipate an away win.
The visitors will aim to strengthen their pursuit of the top three with a sixth straight win, and they boast the quality to cruise past the strugglers.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Monaco win with a probability of 51.72%. A win for Saint-Etienne had a probability of 24.71% and a draw had a probability of 23.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Monaco win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.71%) and 0-2 (8.53%). The likeliest Saint-Etienne win was 1-0 (6.34%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.09%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 2.5% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Monaco would win this match.
