Close to the red zone in the Championship and disturbed by the Puel-Ruffier conflict, Saint-Etienne played a crucial derby on Sunday evening.
If Lyon is struggling to follow up on its good results, Saint-Etienne is still trying to start forward. Victorious of the Lyonnais at Geoffroy-Guichard during the first leg (1-0), the Stéphanois are currently living the most complicated season of the club for ten years. 15th Ligue 1 with four wins and a draw in its last five games, ASSE is currently in a very delicate position. Worse still, in the event of a defeat at Groupama Stadium, against a Lyonnais Olympique determined after its success against Juventus in the Champions League (1-0), the Greens would find themselves two points behind the barrage place.
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In a context close to that of a crisis, the Forez club has everything to gain by bringing a result to the field of its eternal rival. This is also the message that we wish to send Claude Puel, the technician from Saint-Etienne, in order to relieve the pressure: “It is an interesting match to live and play. But I detach myself from the context. You have to be aware of the environment, be careful not to outsmart and stay lucid. We have to restart the forward march and be psychologically armed to get out of there to go up little by little in the ranking, without focusing on the possible consequences, “he explained at a press conference on Friday.
Deprived of “seven players, potential incumbents” including Wahbi Khazri, Arnaud Nordin, Romain Hamouma, ASSE Claude Puel will also travel without Stéphane Ruffier, for whom “the conditions for his return are not required”, a case to be managed which does not help anything and which divides some Stéphanois supporters, only to try to gather Mathieu Debuchy. “I sincerely think that this match can revive us at a time when we are a little in trouble,” explained the captain of the Greens to France Blue. In any case, we want to reverse the trend and launch a series. This can be a trigger at the end of the season. It’s a game apart, with a lot of expectation from our supporters. ”
Because after his trip against OL, Saint-Etienne continues a decisive month of March with the reception of Bordeaux (March 8) and Strasbourg (March 22), a trip to Monaco (March 15) and a Cup semi-final of France against Rennes this Thursday. A victory at Groupama Stadium would be the perfect place to find a boost of hope, especially since an away championship victory has been expected since last November (3-2, in Nantes).