Two potential Ligue 1 relegation candidates lock horns at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday night, when Saint-Etienne face Le Havre.
Les Verts are back in the top flight after two years away but, like Le Havre, suffered an opening-day defeat last weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
Saint-Etienne returned to the top flight after a torrid fall from grace with a 1-0 defeat to a strong Monaco side a week ago.
After going down with a whimper in the 2021-22 season, and at one point being embroiled in a relegation battle in Ligue 2 the following year, Saint-Etienne turned their fortunes around to win promotion last season.
ASSE only missed out on automatic promotion by three points, but beat Rodez and Ligue 1 side Metz to condemn them to relegation in the playoffs, earning themselves a spot in the top flight.
The jury remains out on whether they have done enough in the transfer market to compete at this level, but a clash against a side of similar quality on paper could be a good indicator, as last week's loss at Monaco was expected, and on another day Les Verts may have snatched a point, had it not been for VAR.
Le Havre have not yet spent a cent in the transfer market, prepared for the new campaign by losing 6-0 to Bochum in their final friendly, and then faced the daunting prospect of facing Paris Saint-Germain on the opening day.
Didier Digard's men battled well against the champions though, and were just five minutes away from claiming a point, before a late flurry of goals from PSG.
A 4-1 scoreline was harsh on Le Havre, and it has dropped them into the relegation zone early on, having only survived by three points last season.
Improving on a record of just two wins this calendar year is an absolute must for Digard, starting this weekend, with St Etienne likely to be one of the sides they will battle with for Ligue 1 safety.
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Team News
![Head coach Didier Digard of Le Havre AC gestures during the pre-season friendly match between AZ and Le Havre AC at AFAS Stadion on July 31, 2024 [on August 14, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/33/didier-digard.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Head coach Didier Digard of Le Havre AC gestures during the pre-season friendly match between AZ and Le Havre AC at AFAS Stadion on July 31, 2024 [on August 14, 2024]")
© Imago
Olivier Dall'Oglio will be able to welcome Yvann Macon back from suspension here, but the injuries have piled up for Saint-Etienne.
Anthony Briancon, Ibrahima Wadji and Mahmoud Bentayg are among six players confirmed to be out for the hosts this weekend.
Yunis Abdelhamid has arrived to provide some much needed top-flight experience, while Zuriko Davitashvili made his debut last week after starring for Georgia at Euro 2024, and now-dissolved Bordeaux last season.
Only free agents have come through the door at Le Havre for Digard, but none of them made an appearance in the defeat against PSG last weekend.
Without bringing much first-team quality in, the visitors are also without a number of first-team players here, with Andy Logbo and Yoni Gomis both out with serious knee injuries.
Muscle problems will also keep Arouna Sangante and Oussama Targhalline sidelined for this one, while Issa Soumare is still nursing an ankle injury.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Owusu, Batubinsika, Abdelhamid, Nzuzi; Tardieu, Old, Amougou; Davitashvili, Sissoko, Cafaro
Le Havre possible starting lineup:
Desmas; Nego, Youte Kinkoue, Lloris, Operi; Toure, Kuzyaev, Ndiaye; Kechta, Casimir, Joujou
We say: Saint-Etienne 1-1 Le Havre
Neither club has strengthened too much in the market and could cancel each other out in a fixture with little to separate the two as both may get off the mark here.
Le Havre are sticking with much of the squad which narrowly survived last season, and last week's performance may give some confidence, but an away win looks unlikely here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
