Before the 29th day, the Stéphanois occupy 18th place, that of play-off, with only two points behind their visitors, fifteenth.

"We have constant pressure", admitted Estac coach Bruno Irles, before the delicate trip to Geoffroy-Guichard, with the Greens carried by an "excellent dynamic".

At the bottom of the hole for many months, Saint-Etienne has made a spectacular recovery since February, which should be extended against a direct competitor for survival in L1.

The training led by Pascal Dupraz has lost only once in the last seven Championship matches (3-1 against Paris SG of Messi, Neymar and Mbappé), a virtuous series triggered after … seven defeats of in a row.

Wahbi Khazri in front of Lacas Perrin during the Ligue 1 Saint-Etienne-Strasbourg match on February 20, 2002 at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK AFP/Archives

Surge for Bordeaux?

Nothing as spectacular on the side of Troyes, but the promoted also arrives with the confidence of a team undefeated in three matches: the draw obtained against OM (1-1) followed victories over Bordeaux (2-0) and Nantes (1-0), without conceding a goal.

The duel in Forez will be followed with attention by the other clubs at the bottom of the table: Clermont, 16th on equal points with Troyes, goes to Lens on Saturday, Lorient (17th) receives a visit from Strasbourg on Sunday when Metz (19th ) will challenge Rennes in Brittany.

Yoann Touzghar with Troyes against Marseille in Ligue 1 on February 27, 2002 at the Stade de l'Aube FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI AFP / Archives

The red lantern, Bordeaux, hopes that the 29th day will be that of the start, a week after another defeat in Paris (3-0).

Hosts of Montpellier on Sunday (3:00 p.m.), the Girondins have won only one of their nine L1 matches played in 2022.

At the forefront, OM and Nice face off on Sunday at the Vélodrome with second place at stake. The Mediterranean rivals share the same number of points and the same goal difference, but Marseille are ahead thanks to a better attack.

A sterile shock would do for Rennes, fourth with a single unit behind at the start of the weekend.

Program for the 29th day of Ligue 1:

Friday:

(21h00) Saint-Etienne - Troyes

Saturday:

(5:00 p.m.) Lens - Clermont

(21h00) Nantes - Lille

Sunday:

(1:00 p.m.) Monaco - Paris SG

(3:00 p.m.) Angers - Brest

Lorient - Strasbourg

Bordeaux - Montpellier

Rennes - Metz

(5:05 p.m.) Reims - Lyon

(8:45 p.m.) Marseille-Nice

Rank: Pts JGNP bp bc dif

1. Paris SG 65 28 20 5 3 59 24 35

2.Marseilles 50 28 14 8 6 43 26 17

3.Nice 50 28 15 6 7 38 21 17

4. Rennes 49 28 15 4 9 57 27 30

5.Strasbourg 47 28 13 8 7 50 32 18

6. Lille 43 28 11 10 7 37 35 2

7.Nantes 42 28 12 6 10 36 30 6

8.Monaco 41 28 11 8 9 40 30 10

9. Lens 41 28 11 8 9 42 38 4

10. Lyons 41 28 11 9 8 40 37 3

11. Montpellier 38 28 11 5 12 41 40 1

12. Reims 35 28 8 11 9 32 31 1

13. Brest 35 28 9 8 11 36 42 -6

14. Angers 29 28 7 8 13 31 41 -10

15.Troyes 28 28 7 7 14 26 41 -15

16.Clermont 28 28 7 7 14 27 48 -21

17. Lorient 27 28 6 9 13 24 43 -19

18. Saint-Etienne 26 28 6 8 14 28 50 -22

19. Metz 23 28 4 11 13 25 46 -21

20. Burgundy 22 28 4 10 14 38 68 -30

Editor's note: The first two are qualified directly for the group stage of the Champions League.

The 3rd will play the 3rd preliminary round.

The 4th is qualified for the group stage of the Europa League.

The 5th is qualified for the play-offs for access to the group stage of the Europa League Conference.

If the winner of the Coupe de France is classified among the first five, the 5th is qualified for the group stage of the Europa League and the 6th for the play-offs for access to the group stage of the Europa League Conference.

The last 2 are relegated to Ligue 2.

The 18th will compete for their place in L1 during a play-off in round-trip matches with the L2 club which emerged victorious from the pre-play-offs.

Nice and Lyon suffered a one-point withdrawal for disciplinary reasons.

© 2022 AFP