Second-bottom Saint-Etienne could be relegated from Ligue 1 this weekend when they travel to Stade Auguste-Delaune II to face a Reims side seeking consecutive home wins for the first time this season.
The 17th-placed visitors head into the penultimate round of the 2024-25 season four points behind Le Havre in the relegation playoff spot and five adrift of Nantes, highlighting their precarious situation against Reims, who are just two points clear of 16th.
Match preview
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Reims may have notched some wins under Samba Diawara from late March to late April, claiming three Ligue 1 victories from four, but Les rouges et blancs have now failed to win in their last two.
Diawara took over in early February with the Red and Whites winless in nine top-flight fixtures following a 3-0 success at Le Havre in November, a run that lasted 15 games.
Having suffered a five-match losing run before holding Brest to a goalless game in mid-March, Reims' new boss then masterminded a run of three wins over Marseille (3-1), Lens (2-0) and Toulouse (1-0) in four games, with the only loss a 1-0 home defeat to Champions League-chasing Strasbourg.
Those victories helped to place them just outside the dreaded zone, but failure to score in a goalless match at relegated Montpellier HSC and a 1-0 defeat at Nice have left supporters looking over their shoulder in the closing weeks of 2024-25.
While victory over second-bottom St-Etienne will guarantee safety, the club's failure to secure consecutive wins at Stade Auguste-Delaune will not fill the home crowd with much optimism against their desperate opponents.
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Eirik Horneland will hope to exploit Reims' failure to claim back-to-back Ligue 1 wins in their backyard when his second-bottom team pushes to secure their eighth triumph of the concluding season, matching the current number of wins secured by this weekend's hosts.
Although the Red and Whites have notched one more win than Les Verts heading into the penultimate weekend, Saint-Etienne's 19 losses — four more than the home team — and 74 goals conceded, which is more than other clubs in the division, have undermined their prospects of avoiding immediate relegation.
Horneland's team have conceded three goals in three of their last four Ligue 1 fixtures, playing out a 3-3 draw with Brest and falling to 3-1 losses against high-flying Strasbourg and Monaco heading into Saturday's encounter.
Aiming to protect their leaky defence in their final away fixture of 24-25, it will be fascinating to see how Horneland approaches gameweek 33's contest as his team could lose their top-flight status with a loss.
With four points separating Saint-Etienne from Le Havre in the relegation playoff spot, the second-bottom club must beat Reims this weekend and hope the 16th-placed side loses to second-placed Marseille to stay alive entering the final day.
Having won just one away fixture all season — a 2-0 victory at Montpellier in mid-March — those chances appear bleak for Saint-Etienne before their visit to Marne.
Team News
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While Saturday's game could come too soon for Junya Ito (ankle) and Yaya Fofana (ankle), Mohamed Daramy and Reda Khadra's knee injuries should keep them out of Reims' final home match.
Although Jordan Siebatcheu could spearhead the home side's attack, Keito Nakamura is the Red and Whites' leading attacking threat, as the Japanese forward's 11 league goals significantly outrank those of his teammates.
Although Benjamin Bouchouari (back) and Augustine Boakye (ankle) are absent for Saint-Etienne, 12-goal forward Lucas Stassin is the biggest absence, as Les Verts must find decisive goals from elsewhere.
In Stassin's absence, the away side will look to Zuriko Davitashvili (nine goals) and Irvin Cardona (four) to carry the can for the second-bottom club.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Buta, Kipre, Okumu, Gbane, Akieme; Diakhon, Edoa, Kone, Nakamura; Siebatcheu
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneu; Appiah, Bernauer, Nade, Petrot; Moueffek, Ekwah, Tardieu; Cardona, N'Guessan, Davitashvili
We say: Reims 1-0 Saint-Etienne
Given Reims' historical home advantage, boasting three consecutive wins against this weekend's visitors, coupled with Saint-Etienne's dismal away form this season – just one victory, three draws, and twelve losses – a narrow win for Diawara's side appears likely.
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