A Bordeaux side looking to bounce back from defeat host a Saint-Etienne team who are currently on an 11-game winless run on Wednesday evening.
Claude Puel's side are enduring from a torrid time of late, and the former Southampton and Leicester City manager will be desperate for a good result as the pressure mounts.
Match preview
© Reuters
With Bordeaux recording eight clean sheets in their 14 Ligue 1 games so far this season, Jean-Louis Gasset's side have become renowned for their defensive resolve.
However, Les Girondins are yet to find a balance throughout their team. Their 14 league goals mean they have the fourth-worst attacking record in the top flight and have notched up the fewest strikes out of any team in the top 14.
Six of their shutouts have come at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in 2020-21, so Gasset's men will be confident of keeping out their upcoming opponents once again.
They come into this one on the back of a 2-1 loss to table-toppers Lille, but a draw with Paris Saint-Germain made up part of a three-game unbeaten run prior to that narrow defeat.
The 2008-09 French champions will be looking to build on last season's mid-table finish by returning to winning ways on Wednesday.
After making a blistering start to the new campaign winning their opening three Ligue 1 matches of the season, Saint-Etienne have drawn four and lost seven of their last 11 games.
Putting the ball in the back of the net has been Les Verts' main issue, with their measly 12 goals making them the third-lowest scorers in the division.
A 4-1 loss to Brest in November marked Saint-Etienne's seventh consecutive loss under Puel, but since then the Frenchman has managed to tighten things up at the back.
They held high flying Lille to a 1-1 draw the following week before recording back-to-back 0-0 scorelines when coming up against Dijon and Angers respectively in recent weeks.
Only four places separate these two coming into this match, and the 10-time French champions will see this as a good opportunity to turn their fortunes around.
Bordeaux Ligue 1 form: LLWDWL
Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 form: LLLDDD
Team News
© Reuters
Nigerian international winger Samuel Kalu will be absent for Bordeaux after the 26-year-old suffered a setback in his return from injury.
There are a couple of ex-Premier League players in Gasset's ranks, with former Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny and ex-Newcastle United fan-favourite Hatem Ben Arfa currently plying their trade in the south of France.
Koscielny is not expected to feature though due to a muscular problem, however Sunderland academy graduate Josh Maja could return to the starting lineup.
Left-back Yvann Macon is a long-term absentee for Puel's side, and he is joined on the sidelines by Gabriel Silva.
Bayer Leverkusen loanee Panagiotis Retsos should have recovered in time to take up a place on the bench for this one following an injury.
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Sabaly, Pablo, Baysse, Benito; Oudin, Basic, Otavio, Hwang; Ben Arfa, Maja
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Moulin; Debuchy, Moukoudi, Kolodziejczak, Trauco; Youssouf, Neyou, Camara, Bouanga; Abi, Hamouma
We say: Bordeaux 0-0 Saint-Etienne
With Bordeaux experts at keeping clean sheets and Saint-Etienne finding it hard to score, a low scoring affair is expected in midweek. Puel needs to pick up three points sooner rather than later if he wants to keep his job, but away to Bordeaux may be too big an ask, and the sides are likely to take home a share of the spoils.
