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Expected information about the match

France Ligue 1 23.Round

13.2 18:00

Stadium: Geoffroy-Guichard

Capacity: 35616

Turf: Grass

Distance: 551 km (342 mi.)

Saint-Étienne

Mickaël Panos is out of selection by coach decision

Mickaël Panos - Defense (RB) - Rotation player

0

8

0

1

24

0

Charles Abi is out of selection by coach decision

Charles Abi - Attack (CF) - Back-up player

2

0

7

0

3

29

0

Wahbi Khazri is back in the squad after missing last match and it is big boost

Wahbi Khazri - Midfielder (AM) - Regular player

32

0

7

0

2825

13

6

10

0

1

Yann M'Vila is back in the squad after missing last match and it is big boost

Yann M'Vila - Midfielder (DM) - Regular player

37

0

1

0

3305

0

1

5

0

1

AS Saint-Étienne host RC Strasbourg in this rescheduled Ligue 1 (L1) clash, with ‘les Verts’ looking to maintain their good historical top-flight head-to-head home record against the visitors (W24, D15, L6).

The hosts were on a great run of five consecutive home league wins before losing 2-1 to historical rivals Lyon in their last home outing. However, scoring an average of two goals per home match, Jean-Louis Gasset’s St Étienne side have lost just two of their last 20 L1 fixtures on their own turf (W13, D5, L2), scoring at least two goals in 15 of those games!

Players to watch: St Étienne striker Wahbi Khazri has 12 L1 goals, ten of which have been scored on home turf. He will face-off against Strasbourg top scorer Lebo Mothiba, who has scored eight goals in L1 so far.

Stat attack: St Étienne haven’t lost a L1 home game in which they scored at least two goals, since May 2012.

The hosts have won the three home league games in which they conceded the opening goal this term!

Two major players, midfielder Yann MVila and striker Wahbi Khazri, the clubs top scorer, will return to the starting lineup after serving their suspension match. On the other hand, the striker Romain Hamouma, excluded in Rennes, will be automatically suspended, pending the final sanction.

Strasbourg

Moataz Zemzemi is out of selection by coach decision

Moataz Zemzemi - Midfielder (LM) - Back-up player

2

0

9

0

2

0

Kévin Zohi is out of selection by coach decision

Kévin Zohi - Attack (CF) - Rotation player

17

6

20

6

14

618

1

0

Lionel Carole will miss and it can be big blow for team

Lionel Carole - Defense (LB) - Regular player

24

21

4

5

3

1819

0

3

2

0

Kenny Lala will miss and it can be big blow for team

Kenny Lala - Defense (RB) - Regular player

34

0

3060

5

9

3

0

Anthony Caci will miss and it can be big blow for team

Anthony Caci - Midfielder (DM) - Regular player

29

26

8

6

3

2301

0

1

0

Jonas Martin will miss and it can be big blow for team

Jonas Martin - Midfielder (CM) - Regular player

23

1

2

0

2064

3

1

8

0

The visitors travel here with just one loss in their last seven away L1 games (W3, D3, L1), while their 2-1 home loss against Angers last Saturday put an end to their promising run of four-straight wins in the league.

That said, Strasbourg arrive here after claiming only four wins in their last 21 away fixtures in L1 (W4, D6, L11), whilst the fact they have registered just two clean sheets in the process will be of concern to coach Thierry Laurey. Regardless, Strasbourg are the second-best away scorers in L1, averaging 1.82 goals per away game to date.

No less than 101 of Strasbourg’s 243 L1 goal attempts have been on target. That 41.6% hit rate is the joint-best ratio in L1.

The last ten L1 H2Hs overall show a fairly even record, with St Étienne claiming three wins to Strasbourg’s two (D5).

For his move to Saint-Etienne, in the context of the game late for the 23rd day, RC Strasbourg will be handicapped by the absence of Kenny Lala. Thierry Laurey, who summoned a group of 19 players, did not call the side, injured a thigh. This season, he is the main offensive weapon of the Alsatian club since he scored 4 goals and issued 8 assists in 21 games. In addition to Lala, Jonas Martin (ankle), Caci (ankle) and Liénard (sick) are absent.

The midfielder Adrien Thomasson, sick and uncertain weather, is present. In contrast, Kenny Lala (thigh) and Anthony Caci (ankle) will miss the call, as Dimitri Liénard, suffering. Defender Mohamed Simakan, who suffered a broken cruciate ligament in his right knee at the end of July, has resumed collective training but will not be back in the group for several weeks. The long-term injuries, Jonas Martin (ankle), Lionel Carole, (ankle) Jeremy Grimm (knee) and Idriss Saadi (Achilles tendon), are still unavailable.