Lorient will be looking to make it back-to-back wins at the start of their 2020-21 Ligue 1 season when they travel to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Sunday afternoon to take on Saint-Etienne.
The visitors opened their campaign with a 3-1 home victory over Strasbourg last weekend, but Saint-Etienne saw their opener postponed after four positive coronavirus tests at Marseille.
Match preview
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Saint-Etienne were 17th in Ligue 1 last season when the coronavirus pandemic brought the campaign to a halt, and the decision was ultimately made for France's top flight not to resume.
There is no getting away from the fact that it was a disappointing season for Claude Puel's side in terms of Ligue 1, but they made the final of the Coupe de France, losing to Paris Saint-Germain on July 24.
Les Verts have not been in league action since drawing 1-1 with Bordeaux on March 8, though, as their 2020-21 opener against Marseille was postponed after four positive coronavirus tests with their opposition.
Puel's team have lost their last two friendlies against Rennes and Angers, meanwhile, meaning that they will not enter this weekend's contest in the best of form.
Saint-Etienne thumped Lorient 4-0 when the two teams last locked horns in February 2017, though, while they have not lost at home to their opponents this weekend since December 2012.
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Lorient, meanwhile, were promoted back to Ligue 1 for the 2020-21 season as they were first in Ligue 2 when the 2019-20 campaign ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Unlike Saint-Etienne, Les Merlus were in action on the first matchday, and they started in impressive fashion, recording a 3-1 win over Strasbourg on home soil.
Lorient actually fell behind in the 30th minute of the contest but scored three times in the second period through Yoane Wissa, Adrian Grbic and Pierre-Yves Hamel to ensure that they would start with a win.
Christophe Pelissier's side lost eight times in the second tier last term despite claiming first, though, while they dropped points in six of their 14 league games on the road.
Saint-Etienne pre-season form: WWWWLL
Lorient Ligue 1 form: W
Team News
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Saint-Etienne are expected to hand a debut to Adil Aouchiche following his arrival on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, with the 18-year-old likely to feature just behind Charles Abi.
Timothee Kolodziejczak should also make his debut in a defensive position, but the home side have injury concerns in the shape of Zaydou Youssouf and Kevin Monnet-Paquet.
Denis Bouanga and Romain Hamouma are expected to join Aouchiche and Abi in the final third of the field.
As for Lorient, Stephane Diarra is expected to miss out with a foot injury, meaning that Quentin Boisgard could move out wide with Sylvain Marveaux coming into the first XI.
The visitors could otherwise be unchanged from their win over Strasbourg, though, meaning that Hamel might have to accept a spot on the bench despite getting his name on the scoresheet last time out.
Grbic scored on his debut against Strasbourg, and the 23-year-old will lead the attack once again.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Moulin; Debuchy, Fofana, Moukoudi, Kolodziejczak; M'Vila, Camara; Bounaga, Aouchiche, Hamouma; Abi
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Mendes, Laporte, Fontaine, Goff; Lemoine, Fee; Boisgard, Marveaux, Wissa; Grbic
We say: Saint-Etienne 1-1 Lorient
Both teams will feel that they are capable of causing problems in the final third of the field, and it should be an entertaining clash on Sunday afternoon. Lorient were impressive last weekend, though, and we are therefore finding it difficult to back a home win, ultimately selecting a low-scoring draw.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Draw/Away:data
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Saint-Etienne win with a probability of 37.82%. A win for Lorient had a probability of 33.99% and a draw had a probability of 28.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Saint-Etienne win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.92%) and 2-0 (7.06%). The likeliest Lorient win was 0-1 (11.01%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.2%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Saint-Etienne would win this match.
