Saint-Etienne – RC Lens: compositions, issues, history

Lineups, issues, history of confrontations, discover the essential information to remember a few hours before the match betweenAS Saint-Etienne to Lens on behalf of the 8th day of Ligue 1.

Saint Etienne, an ideal opposition?

After five consecutive drawsWill Still’s players must once again manage to win a match. For their part, Saint-Étienne got back on track after a very complicated start to the season. Currently 13th in the standings, the Greens finished well before the international break thanks to to a hat-trick from Davitashvili against Auxerre (3-1).

The Lensois are looking for a victory which has resisted them since August 25. Certainly, Saint-Étienne is an opponent from the second part of the table, but they have already beaten rival Lille at home. So, a double from the North for the Stéphanois or a victorious burst for the Artésiens? To be continued on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Kevin Danso available, Khusanov starting?

And Kevin Danso is available again and expected to start in the starting lineup, this will not necessarily push Abdukodir Khusanov on the bench. The ax could finally fall on Jonathan Gradetwho suffered a sprained ankle before Strasbourg. In the corridors, Will Still doesn’t really have a choice with the injury absences of Deiver Machado and Ruben Aguilar. Offensively, Florian Sotoca is also expected to start. It remains to be seen whether M’Bala Nzola will be able to hold his place, after a small scare in training on Thursday. If this were not the case, Wesley Saïd could benefit from it.

Will Still expects a great match

“I’m expecting a great football celebration. These are two clubs that are quite similar in identity and values, especially in terms of supporters. It’s a real stadium, with a great atmosphere. People are a little too focused on the match in Nice, they had a lot of other matches with interesting, very clean content. This is going to be another big match, sold out, against very good opposition. They put a lot of home teams in difficulty, including another team from the North (Lille, editor’s note). We will have to be very good, very concentrated, to take points there. »

History: Saint Etienne advantage

In this regard, in 100 matches in Ligue 1 between the two teams, Saint-Étienne has a better record, with 40 victories, 24 draws and 36 defeats. However, in the last confrontations, only the Artésiens have managed to win matches. A dynamic to be maintained for Will Still and the Lensois. Furthermore, the last victory of the Greens against Lens in the championship dates back to September 21, 2014. However, the last victory at the Chaudron dates back to August 28, 2010 (3-1).

The latest confrontations:

L1 – 01/15/2022: Saint Etienne 1 – 2 Lens (Sotoca, Seko Fofana)

L1 – 15/08/2021 : Lens 2 – 2 St. Stephen (Refusal, Still Flying)

L1 – 03/03/2021: Saint Etienne 2 – 3 Lens (Sotoca, Kalimuendo, Da Costa)

L1 – 03/10/2020 : Lens 2 – 0 Saint Etienne (Kakuta, Sotoca)

L1 – 02/06/2015 : Saint Etienne 3 – 3 Lens (Touzghar*2, Chavarria)