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

Lyon travel to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday evening to take on bottom side Saint-Etienne in the final game of Ligue 1's ninth round of matches.

A strong run of results has seen the visitors move up to seventh in the table, while the hosts are still searching for their first win of the season.

Match preview

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Only Saint-Etienne and Brest are yet to win a league game so far this campaign and it is the former who sit bottom of the league, on just three points and with a goal difference of -10.

Claude Puel's time at the club has not been convincing, having taken charge of a team that finished fourth and only narrowly avoided relegation the following season.

Much of last season was also spent hovering in and around the relegation zone - until a stronger finish to the season saw them climb to mid-table - and many fans considered Puel fortunate to have retained his job over the summer.

Performances this campaign will only see the pressure continue to mount and, after opening the season with three consecutive draws, Les Verts now find themselves on a run of five straight losses.

The latest of those came at the hands of Nice last weekend, as goals from Amine Gouiri, Calvin Stengs and Andy Delort saw the visitors come away with a comfortable 3-0 victory.

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Puel will have to hope that his side can provide a little more of a challenge to their next guests, but Lyon come into the game on the back of some good recent performances.

Les Gones have won five of their last seven games in all competitions, with the two exceptions being a narrow loss away at runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain and last weekend's mildly disappointing draw with Lorient.

The team from the North-West are also having a good season, though - sitting one position and one point above Lyon in the table - and it was they who took the lead, after an early red card for Emerson Palmieri, with Karl Toko Ekambi finding an equaliser for the hosts in the second half.

Peter Bosz's side returned to winning ways during the week with an impressive 3-0 victory over Brondby in Thursday's Europa League game, where Toko Ekambi made it three goals in two games and Houssem Aouar put the icing on the cake late on.

Lyon have won five of the last six Rhone-Alpes derbies with Saint-Etienne, and Bosz will be fairly confident of making it six out of seven on current form.

Team News

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Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Etienne Green should return to his spot between the sticks now he has served his suspension, with Stefan Bajic heading back to the bench after a tough day at the office against Nice.

Aimen Moueffek and Yvann Macon remain on the sidelines with a broken arm and a calf injury respectively, but Alpha Sissoko may be fit enough to return to the bench.

Puel played a 3-4-3 formation against Nice at the weekend but should revert back to a more customary 4-2-3-1 here.

Lyon have a long list of absentees - Moussa Dembele and Jeff Reine-Adelaide are out injured, while Jason Denayer, Islam Slimani and Jerome Boateng are set to be late decisions for Bosz.

Tino Kadewere is fit again, at least, although an appearance from the bench seems more likely than a place in the starting XI.

With Emerson suspended, Henrique is set to make a first league start at left-back.

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Green; Moukoudi, Sow, Kolodziejczak, Trauco; Gourna-Douath, Camara; Hamouma, Khazri, Bouanga; Ramirez

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Gusto, Diomande, Da Silva, Henrique; Caqueret, Guimaraes; Shaqiri, Paqueta, Cherki; Toko Ekambi

We say: Saint-Etienne 1-2 Lyon

The atmosphere created by the Saint-Etienne fans in the first derby they have been able to attend in a long time will help the home side, but it will likely not be enough to compensate for their recent form. A draw is not out of the question, especially with the number of absences for Lyon, but we just about fancy them to edge this game.