Having ended the great run of results with a narrow defeat to leaders Lille, Sochaux will be looking to return to winning ways and clinch the Europa League place by beating Saint Etienne. Back to back home defeats to Lille and Rennes proved that les Verts are currently on the downtrend and they now face a tough task against in-form Sochaux.

Sochaux flying high

After narrowly escaping relegation in every one of the last three seasons, Sochaux club management decided to take extreme measures and put their trust in a very young squad led by Francois Gillot. However, the gamble produced excellent results, with talented players Anin, Boudebouz, Martin, Brown and Maiga bringing a breath of fresh air to the side, while helping les Lionceaux record some excellent results this season. As a result, Sochaux now sit in sixth place, needing just few more points to secure European qualification, with the game against Saint Etienne the perfect opportunity to do so. Sochaux have been thoroughly impressive of late, picking up 17 points from last 8 games and considering the excellent atmosphere surrounding the squad, there is a good chance that les Lionceaux will continue the rich vein of form by beating out-of-form Saint Etienne.

Back-up striker Edouard Butin has picked up an injury against Lille and is set to miss out, while Faty, Brechet, Mikari, Anin and Gurler remain sidelined.

Les Verts on the downtrend

Saint Etienne have enjoyed a pretty good season considering they had barely stayed alive last term, but les Verts didn’t have enough in them for the final push and an assault on the Europa League places. It looks as though the pretty small squad Christophe Galtier has at his disposal couldn’t cope with the busy schedule in the second part of the season, as witnessed by three defeats in last five games. Back to back home defeats to Lille and Rennes acted as a real blow to the players’ confidence and that could be a problem when facing in-form Sochaux side that is also in great spirits. Les Verts are clearly on the downtrend at the moment and with nothing to play for any more they could struggle to match very motivated Sochaux.

The visitors will be without two key players after keeper Jeremie Janot and striker Emmanuel Riviere picked up injuries in the Rennes game, whereas Andreu, Landrin, Payet and Ravel are also out.

Verdict

Sochaux are full of confidence following some impressive performances and they are very motivated to win this game and ensure European qualification. Saint Etienne, on the other hand, are very low on spirits and are missing several key players, so home win looks like a logical choice here.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 2.00 (1/1)

Bookmaker: Betfair