Relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne welcome Angers to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in a must-win clash in Ligue 1 on Saturday night.

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Saint-Etienne's fears of relegation were deepened last weekend when they were thrashed 5-1 at Marseille, which was their third straight defeat, in which time they have conceded 11 goals.

New manager Eirik Horneland looked as though he was getting a tune out of the side to begin with, but he has now only managed to win two points from a possible 18 available in their last six.

Les Verts are yet to drop into the automatic relegation places, but their woeful goal difference (minus-30, the club's worst ever at this stage of a top-flight season) means Le Havre and Montpellier are both within touching distance, while Horneland's side are three points adrift of safety.

While the last three have all been very challenging games, this fixture, and the following three, should provide a much clearer picture of where ASSE are at currently.

Home games against Angers and Nice come before successive away matches against the current bottom two, and if Saint-Etienne remain in deep trouble after that four-game spell, then the writing could be on the wall.

Only once before have Saint-Etienne conceded as many as their current tally of 50 at this stage of a Ligue 1 season, and that was all the way back in the 1940s, but they did survive relegation that season.

The hosts also have a brilliant record on home soil against Angers, remaining unbeaten in their last 17 meetings at the Guichard - their longest run against a current top-flight outfit.

Across all venues, their record is superb too, with just two defeats in 28, but one of those did come in the reverse fixture back in October, when Angers won 4-2, scoring twice as many goals that afternoon than they had managed in the six previous meetings combined.

That was one of the five meetings so far this season in Ligue 1 against two newly-promoted clubs, and the home side on the day often come out on top, with four ending in victory for the hosts, including ASSE's home clash with Auxerre, which they won 3-1.

Angers have already surpassed the tally of points they managed when they were relegated in 2022-23, and now have the chance this weekend to win back-to-back league games without conceding for the first time in almost four years.

That comes after a 1-0 win over Reims last weekend, but form has been slightly topsy turvy for Alexandre Dujeux's men in 2025, because after winning their first three, and reaching the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, they could not beat Le Havre at home, and lost against both Lens and Marseille.

The results they have picked up have been enough to move them eight points clear of trouble though, despite being one of the favourites to be relegated at the start of the campaign, and that gap will stretch to 11 if they win here.

Dujeux must therefore ensure his players do not have one eye on their cup quarter-final against Reims, which is on the horizon in midweek, and will excite the supporters, given how wide open the competition has become following the elimination of many French giants.

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:

Larsonneur; Appiah, Batubinsika, Nade, Petrot; Bouchouari, Ekwah, Tardieu; Boakye, Stassin, Davitashvili

Angers possible starting lineup:

Fofana; Raolisoa, Bamba, Lefort, Hanin; Ferhat, Capelli, Belkebla, Belkhdim, Abdelli; El Melali