Preview: Saint-Etienne vs. Clermont - prediction, team news, lineups

Saint-Etienne go in search of their first Ligue 1 victory of the campaign as they welcome Clermont to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts are on a club-record run without a victory and sit bottom of the division with 12 matches played, seven points behind Clermont in 15th place.

Match preview

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After finishing 11th last time out in Ligue 1, the 2021-22 campaign has got off to a pretty disastrous start for basement boys Saint-Etienne.

Les Verts have failed to win any of their opening 12 matches this season and are without a win in the top flight in 14 games stretching back into last season.

Claude Puel's men have managed to avoid defeat in three of their last four games, but wins are needed if they are to bridge the gap on 17th place, which stands at five points.

Not since May 9, when beating Marseille 1-0, have Saint-Etienne picked up a victory on home soil - a run spanning seven matches.

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Clermont were still a Ligue 2 side then, but they have since earned promotion and have made a solid enough start to their first ever top-flight campaign.

Les Lanciers won their opening two games without conceding and, while results have tailed off somewhat, they can be happy with their 15th-placed standing at this stage.

Pascal Gastien's charges enter this game on the back of successive defeats, however, having followed up a 2-1 loss at Nantes with a 1-0 home reverse to Marseille.

Since beating Bordeaux in their opening away game, meanwhile, Clermont are winless in five on their travels, conceding 16 goals across that spell.

These sides have met on five previous occasions in all competitions, with the results perfectly balanced across that period - two wins each and one draw.

Team News

Denis Bouanga has been surprisingly overlooked by Puel in recent games but is in contention to return here on the back of the 1-1 draw with Metz last time out.

Goalkeeper Etienne Green returned after a short absence in that last game and will once again start here, while Arnaud Nordin and Wahbi Khazri should get the nod in attack.

Khazri has scored seven goals in 12 Ligue 1 games this season, as many as in his 22 games in his previous campaign, making this his best start to a top-flight season.

As for Clermont, Jean-Louis Leca has served a suspension, but Deiver Machado remains sidelined for the foreseeable future.

After falling to defeat against Marseille last weekend, Jordan Tell and Jason Berthomier may be considered for selection here.

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Green; Camara, Kolodziejczak, Sow, Macon; Gourna-Douath, Neyou, Youssouf; Boudebouz; Nordin, Khazri

Clermont possible starting lineup:
Desmas; Zedadka, Hountondji, Ogier, N'Simba; Iglesias, Samed; Allevinah, Khaoui, Rashani; Hamel

We say: Saint-Etienne 3-1 Clermont

Saint-Etienne are in desperate need of a victory if they are to avoid being cut adrift at the bottom and will see this as the perfect chance to get off the mark.

Clermont have made a positive start to the Ligue 1 season, but they have struggled for wins on their travels and have shipped too many, so we are backing a home win here.

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