Nantes – Saint-Etienne

Saint-Etienne are trying to get out of the relegation zone. Can they beat Nantes?

On Matchday 38 of the French Ligue 1, Nantes take on Saint-Etienne. The season is over for the Canaries. They have completed their primary task by winning the domestic cup. And in Ligue 1, they have not competed for anything for a long time. And now they occupy ninth place, with no mathematical possibility of moving up, but they can drop one position, because the same number of points is with Lille, who have the worst goal difference. For Saint-Etienne, on the other hand, the match is very important. "The Greens have dropped into the relegation zone, where they have been displaced by Metz, who have desperately burst from the bottom. They are evenly matched on points, but the better goal difference has put Metz in the relegation zone, with Saint-Etienne in penultimate place. So, the Greens must be sure to pick up points to avoid the prospect of ending up in Ligue 2 at the end of the week. For such an established team, it would be a disaster. But Saint-Etienne brought themselves to it. At one point, the Greens' game saw progress and the team stepped up, but St-Etienne have been woeful in recent weeks, losing four games in a row: Monaco (1-4), Rennes (0-2), Nice (2-4) and Reims (1-2). And while the first three teams are at least noticeably stronger and tournament-motivated, the defeat to Reims at home is unexplainable and could end up being the fatal one for the Greens. Saint-Etienne's motivation should learn from Nantes, who even in the season-ending mode are beating all opponents. They beat motivated Bordeaux (5-3) and Rennes (2-1), played a draw with motivated Lens (2-2), and gave battle to equally motivated Marseille and Lyon, whom they lost 2-3. "The Canaries can afford to play at their ease and enjoy themselves, which ensures bright football with goals in both directions. In the first leg, though, the game between Saint-Etienne and Nantes was tight and ended in a 1-0 win for the Canaries. Nantes won 11 games on home soil, drew three times and lost four times. And Saint-Etienne have not won on the road since February 13. In total, they have 11 away defeats, four draws and three wins.