FC Sochaux vs. AS Saint-Etienne – French Ligue 1 Preview
Two Ligue 1 sides, FC Sochaux and AS Saint-Etienne, are set to meet on Saturday, May 21 at Stade Bonal. Both clubs have two games remaining and this one holds massive importance for the home side as they could still make their way into UEFA Europa League.
Saint-Etienne can finish in the top six should they win both of their remaining games.
FC Sochaux
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Francis-c13946 Gillot’s side are currently sixth in the table with 52 points and have two games remaining in the current campaign. Of the 36 games Sochaux have played in the campaign so far, they have secured victories in 15. Their home record has been quite impressive,
winning 11 of those matches as compared to only three losses.
Les Lionceaux have been quite decent in front of the net. They have slammed in 55 goals while 41 have been netted against them. Sochaux could still grab 6 points which could earn them a Europa League spot. Les Lionceaux have been a pretty decent in their
last five games by winning three of those matches. One game ended in a draw while the loss came against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lille-OSC-c39800 in their last game played on May 18.
AS Saint-Etienne
Christopher Galtier’s side are ninth in the League table so far with 48 points and wins in the two of their remaining games could hand them a perfect finish. Les Verts are comfortably placed on the table and the manager would want his side to concentrate
hard in the remaining matches.
Of the 12 wins from their 36 matches, only five have come away from home to go along with the 7 losses. Saint-Etienne have had a mixed campaign both in terms of attack and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Defence-c38904. They have scored 44 goals this term and also have conceded the same number
of goals.
In their last five games, Les Verts have notched up just one win to go along with three losses. The latest defeat came against Rennes in their last game played on May 15.
Team News
FC Sochaux
The home team are likely to go in with a traditional 4-4-2 formation. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Teddy-Richert-c34753 will start in goal for the home side. There are no fresh injury worries for the
manager apart from Kevin Anin and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jacques-Faty-c17504, who are unlikely to feature again this season.
AS Saint-Etienne
Les Verts are highly likely to go in with the 5-4-1 formation. On-loan striker from AC Milan, Aubameyang, will start upfront in a lone striker’s role. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bakary-Sako-c7217 will offer Aubameyang support from the wings. Dimitri Payet’s injury is
the only worry that the visitors will have to deal with.
Players to Watch
Sochaux would certainly rely upon the striking abilities of the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mali-c2951 striker, Maiga, who has 14 goals in the campaign so far and is Les Lionceaux top goal scorer this season. The Team would want the striker to add to his tally as a win is what the club needs
to stay in contention for Europa League.
The visitors will have their hopes pinned upon their midfielder, Sako, who has seven goals this season. The Frenchman will certainly play a key role in the absence of their top goal scorer, Payet.
Prediction
Sochaux’s recent form has been decent and they seem favourites to win at home in order to keep their Europa league hopes alive. The home team will emerge 2-1 winners on the night.
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