Angers will be looking to continue their rise up the Ligue 1 table when they travel to a struggling Saint-Etienne side on Friday evening.
The hosts played out a goalless stalemate with basement side Dijon last time out, whereas Angers overcame Lorient 2-0 to climb up to seventh.
Match preview
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Saint-Etienne are still winless since the third gameweek of the season, but at the very least, Les Verts are not succumbing to defeat every weekend any more.
Claude Puel oversaw an abysmal seven-game losing run in the top flight between September and November, but the former Leicester City manager still occupies the hotseat despite seeing Patrick Vieira axed from Nice for a similar spell of results.
Les Verts managed to hold a high-flying Lille side to a 1-1 draw two weeks ago, although Les Dogues were understandably fatigued from their Europa League exploits, and Saint-Etienne were unable to find the back of the net against Dijon as the 20th-placed side took a point from their clash with Puel's men.
Saint-Etienne will need Dijon to do them a favour this weekend, though, as Les Verts - who currently lie 15th in the table - could leapfrog Nantes into 14th if they win and Les Canaris fail to take maximum points from their clash with the division's basement side.
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In complete contrast, Angers boast a respectable set of results in recent weeks and have come into the conversation for a European berth.
Stephane Moulin's men have now prevailed in three of their last four in the French top flight and followed up their 3-1 win at Lens with a 2-0 home victory over another newly-promoted side in Lorient last time out.
Angelo Fulgini took just 10 minutes to break the deadlock for Les Scoistes before Pierrick Capelle came off the bench to add a second six minutes into added time for Moulin's men, who ran out comfortable winners against the strugglers on familiar territory.
That victory at the Stade Raymond Kopa ended a run of four games without a home win for Angers, and while no team in the top half has conceded more than Les Scoistes 22 goals so far, this week's visitors find themselves only one point adrift of the top five after Montpellier and Monaco both lost last weekend.
Angers thrashed Saint-Etienne 4-1 when the sides locked horns in their only meeting last season, which was Les Scoistes' first victory over Friday's hosts since the 1976-77 campaign, and Angers have not triumphed on Saint-Etienne's turf since 1972.
Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 form: LLLLDD
Angers Ligue 1 form: WLWLWW
Team News
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Saint-Etienne forward Charles Abi was not available for last Sunday's draw at Dijon after picking up an injury in training, but the 20-year-old could return for this one.
However, Gabriel Silva is still sidelined alongside long-term absentee Yvann Macon, so Miguel Trauco is guaranteed another start at left-back.
Bayer Leverkusen loanee Panagiotis Retsos has returned to training after a groin injury, but the visit of Angers will come too soon for the defender.
As for Angers, Souleyman Doumbia was suspended for the win over Lorient after an accumulation of bookings, but the left-back will return for this one.
Doumbia should demote Vincent Manceau to the bench, but Sofiane Boufal had to be forced off on a stretcher last weekend and could be out until the new year.
Ibrahim Amadou also had to be substituted only a few minutes after Boufal's injury, and while the midfielder's hamstring problem is not too serious, he will miss out here.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Moulin; Debuchy, Moukoudi, Kolodziejczak, Trauco; Youssouf, Neyou, Camara, Bouanga; Abi, Hamouma
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Bamba, Traore, Thomas, Doumbia; Mangani, Bobichon; Lage, Fulgini, Capelle; Bahoken
We say: Saint-Etienne 0-1 Angers
Saint-Etienne have shown more of a defensive resolve in decent weeks, but Les Verts are still without a win since September and are not doing so well on the goalscoring front. The hosts will not make life easy for the in-form Angers, who have seen a couple more players enter the treatment room since their win over Lorient, but we are backing Moulin's side to nick a win and keep the pressure on the top six.
Top betting tip
Ben Knapton
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 Angers win with a probability of 40.77%. A win for Saint-Etienne had a probability of 32.04% and a draw had a probability of 27.2%.
The most likely scoreline for an Angers win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.36%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.47%) and 0-2 (7.47%). The likeliest Saint-Etienne win was 1-0 (9.79%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.87%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood.
