The first Saturday fixture of 2025 in Ligue 1 will see Saint-Etienne aim to climb out of a relegation playoff position when they welcome Reims to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Les Verts are currently 16th in the table, losing their final league contest of 2024 2-1 at Toulouse, while the Champagne club are 10th following a 0-0 draw with Monaco.
Match preview
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A new era begins at Saint-Etienne as Eirik Horneland takes charge of his first Ligue 1 fixture this weekend, following the sacking of Olivier Dall'Oglio last month.
The Norwegian coach, who guided Brann to a First Division crown in 2022 and the Norwegian Football Cup in 2022-23, has his work cut out to turn around a club that have been hovering near the bottom of the table all season.
After 15 Ligue 1 matchdays, they have already suffered 10 defeats, only the second time they have lost that many matches at this stage of the competition in their 69 top-flight appearances (11 losses in 2008-09).
Saint-Etienne are on a four-match losing run across all competitions, winning just one of their previous five competitive games (1-0 versus Montpellier HSC).
All of their domestic victories in 2024-25 have come at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, with 12 of their 13 points coming in Saint-Etienne.
Eight times this season, they have failed to find the back of the net in this competition, while suffering three shutout defeats by four or more goals.
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Another side with plenty of difficulty finding the back of the net lately is Stade de Reims, who enter 2025 without a goal in three consecutive top-flight matches.
Should they fail to score this weekend, it would mark their longest goalless drought in this competition since October 2015 (four).
At the same time, Luka Elsner's men have not conceded in consecutive domestic encounters, while they ended 2024 with a solid 3-1 victory over amateur side Still-Mutzig.
They come into 2025 four points below Nice for a place in the Europa Conference League next season, having claimed at least a point in their previous six top-flight affairs in January.
Three of their five Ligue 1 triumphs in 2024-25 have occurred away from home, just two fewer than they managed all of last season.
Reims are unbeaten in their previous six Ligue 1 meetings with Saint-Etienne, claiming four victories over that stretch, including a 2-1 triumph the last time they visited Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in May 2022.
Team News
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Several Saint-Etienne players are questionable this weekend, including Ben Old, Yvann Macon, and Anthony Briancon, who all have knee issues, while Mickael Nade is out with a cruciate ligament injury.
Due to a knock, we may not see Aimen Moueffek on Saturday, Augustine Boakye is dealing with physical discomfort, Thomas Monconduit has a sore thigh, and Ibrahima Wadji may be out because of an unknown problem.
Ibrahim Sissoko was given a seven-match suspension for his red card in their 4-0 Coupe de France defeat against Marseille, including five firm, while Lucas Stassin netted the only goal for them in their previous Ligue 1 match.
As for Reims, Reda Khadra is out with a cruciate ligament injury, while Abdoul Kone and Maxime Busi are doubtful with hamstring strains.
A knee issue could keep Mohamed Daramy sidelined for this upcoming contest, while Joseph Okumu is currently dealing with a sore groin.
Yehvann Diouf has collected back-to-back domestic clean sheets in the Reims goal, and he leads the league in goals prevented this season (7.3).
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Batubinsika, Abdelhamid, Petrot; Appiah, Fomba, Tardieu, Mouton, Cornud; Davitashvili, Stassin
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Buta, Agbadou, Kipre, Akieme; Kone, Atangana; Ito, Munetsi, Nakamura; Diakite
We say: Saint-Etienne 0-1 Reims
While a new manager tends to come with good early form for that side, we believe Les Verts' struggles in the attacking third will continue against a well-disciplined defensive unit, who also boast top chance creators that can change the complexion of this game.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
