ASSE face Nîmes Olympique, a direct contender in the maintenance race, this Sunday. Before this poster, the good news poured in for Claude Puel, the coach of Saint-Étienne.
Good news for Claude Puel before Nîmes
After their heavy loss (0-4) against AS Monaco, AS Saint-Étienne will try to raise their heads on Sunday. ASSE will face Nîmes Olympique, currently 18th in Ligue 1. For this poster, Claude Puel should be able to count on Wahbi Khazri and Romain Hamouma. The Tunisian striker did not honor his appointments with his selection due to illness. However, he has already returned to training for the trip to the Gard. As for the Saint-Etienne winger, he signed his return to Etrat after his injury on February 7. In addition to these returns, the coach of the Greens will be opposed to diminished Crocs. Gard objective reveals that Nîmes will be deprived of at least four elements against Saint-Étienne. Pablo Martinez, Sidy Sarr and Clément Depres will be withdrawn, according to the regional newspaper. The same source does not exclude further absences due to the recent international truce.
A single forfeit for ASSE against Nîmes?
On the Stéphanois side, Claude Puel has already recovered all his internationals. Scorer with Gabon, Denis Bouanga took advantage of the truce to regain confidence. The Gabonese (20 caps / 6 goals) needs it to help ASSE achieve its goals. Against Nîmes, the coach of Saint-Étienne will have to do without the services of Ryad Boudebouz. Not called up with Algeria, the attacking midfielder suffered a sprained ankle. Besides the game against the Crocos, the 31-year-old could miss those against Bordeaux and Paris in the next two days. The duration of his unavailability is estimated at three weeks.