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

Bottom-of-the-table Saint-Etienne will take the relatively short trip west to Stade Gabriel-Montpied on Sunday afternoon to take on Clermont in what will likely prove to be a Ligue 1 relegation six-pointer.

Both sides have won their previous two league matches but remain at either end of a bottom six that is covered by just six points.

Match preview

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Clermont followed up their impressive 2-1 win at home to Rennes with an even more impressive victory over high-flying Nice.

The underdogs dominated most of the match and eventually broke the deadlock in the 77th minute when Elbasan Rashani turned in at the back post.

That single goal would prove to be enough to beat Christophe Galtier's side and moved Les Lanciers onto a very respectable 24 points after 23 games of their first ever campaign in the French top flight.

Clermont had begun 2022 with zero wins and zero goals from their four opening games in all competitions, so will have been pleased to turn things around with important back-to-back triumphs.

However, many of the other clubs in the bottom six also won their last game, meaning their recent six points have not actually moved Pascal Gastien's side considerably further away from danger.

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One of the teams to win their last game were Clermont's upcoming opponents Saint-Etienne.

The league's basement side ended a run of seven consecutive losses in the league with a long-overdue 1-0 win against Angers, only to then crash out of the Coupe de France to fourth-tier Bergerac Perigord four days later.

They bounced back again in Ligue 1, however, with a dramatic turnaround at home to Montpellier - goals from Romain Hamouma, Arnaud Nordin and Wahbi Khazri in the final 10 minutes securing a 3-1 win.

Les Verts scored three goals in 11 minutes after having taken two months to score their three previous league goals, which is a good example of the revival under new manager Pascal Dupraz.

They remain bottom of the league but are now just two points from safety and look a long way from the lost cause that they appeared under Claude Puel's management.

Team News

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Clermont goalkeeper duties seem to have officially switched hands from Arthur Desmas to Ouparine Djoco, after the latter's part in his side's recent return to form.

Another recent change has been a switch to a more negative 4-3-3 setup, which will also likely remain given their back-to-back victories.

The visitors made a formation change of their own, moving from three at the back to four against Montpellier last weekend, and Dupraz should keep that winning formula.

Hamouma returned to the lineup from the bench last time out and will be pushing for a start after his stunning strike, but it is Miguel Trauco who is perhaps the more likely to come straight into the starting XI on his return from injury.

Harold Moukoudi will join him in the back four, having returned from Cameroon after the Africa Cup of Nations.

Clermont possible starting lineup:
Djoco; Zedadka, Ogier, Hountondji, N'Simba; Magnin, Gastien, Abdul Samed; Dossou, Bayo, Rashani

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Macon, Kolodziejczak, Moukoudi, Trauco; Neyou, Camara, Moueffek; Boudebouz, Khazri, Bouanga

We say: Clermont 1-1 Saint-Etienne

Both sides will be far more confident heading into the game than they would have been just a couple of weeks ago. They will both know the significance of a win here which could lead to a cagey game, and we can see the two cancelling each other out and leaving with a point a piece.

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