Ligue 1 | Gameweek 24

Mar 1, 2025 at 4pm UK

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

St Etienne vs Nice

Match preview

To take revenge on Nice, Saint-Etienne will need to improve on a poor run of form that has left them in relegation trouble.

The hosts have won just one of their last 11 league games, losing seven, and last week's draw with Angers will have felt like another.

After coming back from two goals down to lead 3-2, ASSE were flattened by Bamba Dieng's 94th-minute equaliser and missed a golden opportunity to take three points in the midst of a favourable run of fixtures.

The bottom two both lost, moving Saint-Etienne one point clear of the automatic relegation places, but they remain 16th in the play-off places, three points adrift of safety on inferior goal difference.

After the clash with Nice, Saint-Etienne's next two fixtures will be against bottom two Le Havre and Montpellier, but both are away from home and they are yet to taste victory away from home in Ligue 1 this season.

All five of their victories have come at the Guichard, with 89% of their points coming at home, and manager Eirik Horneland will be desperate for his side to continue that form and pick up three vital points.

Nice's 8-0 win in the reverse fixture levelled the head-to-head record at 43 wins apiece, and the visitors will be hoping to maintain that in what will be their 2,400th Ligue 1 match.

In the club's history, there have been few better starts to a campaign than the one they enjoyed at the start of 2025, when they took 19 points from a possible 24, level on points with leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

Haise's side may have suffered embarrassing exits from the Coupe de France and Europa League, but they are now in the driving seat to qualify for next season's Champions League for the first time since the 1960 European Cup.

Fourth-tier Stade Briochin beat them in the Coupe and Nice failed to win any of their eight Europa League league matches, but they have now won three in a row after beating Montpellier last weekend.

That kept them in third place, and they extended their lead over fourth place after Lille beat Monaco, so they will be confident of securing a second successive away win in this fixture for the first time in over 18 months.

Recent Performance

Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 form:DDLLLD

Nice Ligue 1 form:LWDWWW

Nice form (all competitions):DDLWWW

Team News

Irvin Cardona is a doubt for the home side after being taken off in the second half of last week's 3-3 draw with Angers, shortly after scoring a brace.

The on-loan striker does not have the best record against Nice, having failed to score in any of his seven career appearances against Les Aiglons.

Ben Old remains a doubt for ASSE with a knee injury, while Ibrahima Wadji and Dennis Appiah are also unlikely to recover in time to feature.

Nice will have left-back Melvin Bard available after serving a one-match ban in last weekend's win over Montpellier, and he should regain his place in the side.

At the other end, Jonathan Clauss has been the man of the match for Haise's side, scoring two goals and keeping two clean sheets in Nice's last three games, all of which have ended in victory.

Morgan Sanson and Terem Moffi remain Nice's two injured players, while Jeremie Boga and Pablo Rosario have recently returned from their respective setbacks.

Possible starting lineup

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:

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

Nice possible starting lineup:

Bulka; Clauss, Ndayishimiye, Bombito, Dante, Bard; Boudaoui, Santamaria; Guessand, Laborde, Cho