Saint Etienne vs Lille

May 9, 2011
By: John Hansen

Having edged closer to the European places with an impressive win in Avignon, Saint Etienne will be looking to beat leaders Lille and thus close the gap behind fifth-placed Rennes. Les Dogues created a four-point cushion at the top as they beat Nancy away and the win at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard would see them make a giant step towards the first league title after 57 years.

St Etienne blossoming under Christophe Galtier

Talented coach Christophe Galtier took over the reigns at St Etienne when the club were fighting for survival last season and not only did he led the team to safety, but he has now taken them to the brink of European qualification. Les Verts are now playing attractive attacking football under Galtier and it is the attacking approach that has helped the team surpass teams like Bordeaux, Montpellier and Toulouse in the standings. Following the impressive away win over Arles, les Verts sit four points behind European places, meaning they will certainly be looking to beat leaders Lille, even if that is easier said than done. There is no doubt that in Payet, Riviere, Sako and Sanogo the hosts have more than enough attacking potential to hurt Lille, but their back line will also be under extreme pressure when facing by far the best attacking side in the league. Saint Etienne have scored and conceded in four of their last six games, meaning that we should expect another entertaining game at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Yohann Andreu, Blaise Matuidi and Yoric Ravet remain sidelined, while Sanogo and Sako are pushing for the starting places.

Four-point cushion with four games to go

Impressive performances last season hinted that Lille could be soon fighting for honours in France and Rudi Garcia’s side have managed to live up to the expectation this term, as they are now on the brink of winning the first league title after 57 years. While the defeat to Monaco and draws against Bordeaux and Lorient allowed their title rivals to close down the gap, Lille quickly managed to return to the top of the standings and restore the four-point lead thanks to back to back wins over Arles and Nancy. With just four games to go before the Ligue 1 campaign ends, les Dogues are very motivated to finish the job and lift the coveted trophy, so there are no doubts that they will be looking for all three points in this match. Rudi Garcia faces certain selection problems, but the boss has good replacements for the possible absentees, meaning that team’s performance shouldn’t suffer even if a couple of players miss out.

Adil Rami and Eden Hazard are doubtful after picking up injuries against Nancy, but Ligue 1 top scorer Moussa Sow returns to the starting line-up. Beria, and Cabaye return from suspension, but Obraniak serves the final game of his two-match ban.

Verdict

In a match between two attack-minded teams who need a victory in order to fulfill their ambitions, over 2.5 goals looks like the obvious choice. Lille are the best attacking side in France, whereas Saint Etienne have been scoring goals for fun lately, so we could easily see goals galore at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Our prediction: Over 2.5 goals

Odds: 2.20 (6/5)

Bookmaker: Victor Chandler

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