This Saturday, March 29, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Saint-Etienne (17th) at Stade Geoffroy Guichard (kick-off 7pm, UTC+1) as part of Matchday 27 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. And as before every match, here’s a presentation of the Parisians’ opponents.
Saint-Etienne’s situation –
It’s still a very complicated period for Saint-Etienne, who were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2022, only to win promotion two years later. Now, after a busy summer that included a change of ownership, the Stéphanois are fighting to stay up.
This with further change during the season after performances that raised relegation concerns, as coach Eirik Horneland replaced Olivier Dall’Oglio last December. There’s still no reason to call it a clear success, even if the Verts have pulled off a few coups. There are also ongoing tensions around the club, particularly with the fans.
The 2024 summer mercato –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
The winter mercato 2024/2025 –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
Key statistics –
This season, Saint-Etienne have the 17th best attack in the league with 25 goals scored (first-placed PSG are on 73 and last-placed Montpellier are on 21), and the 17th best defense with 57 goals conceded (first-placed PSG are on 25 and last-placed Montpellier are on 59).
Stéphanois’ top scorer is 24-year-old striker Zuriko Davitashvili, who is 21st in the league with 7 goals (Ligue 1’s top scorer is Ousmane Dembélé with 21). Lucas Stassin (20-year-old attacking midfielder/winger) is Saint-Etienne’s best passer with 4 assists, ranking 20th in Ligue 1 (Rayan Cherki is first with 9 assists).
Last 5 Saint-Etienne matches –
Only Saint-Etienne possession is shown and Saint-Etienne shots are put first (when data is available).
15/02/2025 (Ligue 1) – Marseille/Saint-Etienne: 5-1. 4-3-3 formation. 29% possession. 7 shots including 2 on target vs. 28 shots (14 on target).
22/02/2025 (Ligue 1) -Saint-Etienne/Angers: 3-3. In 4-3-3. 62% possession. 19 shots, including 8 on target, against 13 shots (4 on target).
01/03/2025 (Ligue 1) – Saint-Etienne/Nice: 1-3. In 4-2-3-1. 63% possession. 12 shots including 3 on target versus 16 shots (9 on target).
09/03/2025 (Ligue 1) – Le Havre/Saint-Etienne: 1-1. In 4-2-3-1. 54% possession. 12 shots, including 3 on target, against 13 shots (7 on target).
16/03/2025 (Ligue 1) – Montpellier/Saint-Etienne: 0-2 (interrupted). 4-3-3 formation. 60% possession. 11 shots including 4 on target versus 13 shots (3 on target).
The squad and probable line-up.
Out – Boakye (injury), Bernauer, Miladinovic (suspension).
Possible line-up in 4-3-3 (L’Equipe):
Davitachvili – Stassin – Cardona
Tardieu – Ekwah – Moueffek
Pétrot – Nade – Batubinsika – Maçon
Larsonneur
Saint-Etienne’s style of play.
While teams at the bottom of the table can tend to be very defensive, this Saint-Etienne team is keen to continue with an attacking approach, particularly in terms of possession. The idea is also to shoot regularly, without necessarily trying to be very close to the goal. We’re lacking in efficiency, but lately we’ve been seeing our defence struggling too much to really pick up points.
This could be a cause for concern ahead of the PSG match. Even if adaptations are conceivable against the Parisians. We’ll just have to wait and see whether Eirik Horneland will go ahead with his idea of the game, despite the risk of conceding too many goals.
