Preview: Saint-Etienne vs. Valenciennes - prediction, team news, lineups

Valenciennes travel to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to face Saint-Etienne on Friday with their Ligue 2 survival prospects still in their own hands.

Ahead of the final matchday of the season, Ahmed Kantari's side need just a point to all but seal their place in the second tier again next season.

Match preview

With just one game remaining, there are still two relegation places left to be decided, and six sides are still in danger of filling them in the final standings.

Valenciennes find themselves in the best position heading into the final day, up in 13th and facing a side with nothing to play for, but St. Etienne have been in excellent form recently.

Despite that, so too have the Athenians, as two vital wins in their last two have surely saved them from the drop.

A staggering 2-0 win at league leaders Le Havre was followed up by a narrow 1-0 success against Grenoble last weekend.

With five of the six relegation-threatened sides picking up at least three points from their last two games, those six points could prove to be the difference for Valenciennes.

Having lost just one of their last seven games, Kantari will know that avoiding defeat again should keep the side up.

While a win would absolutely secure survival, a draw would mean Laval needing an eight-goal win to have any chance of leapfrogging Valenciennes.

Should Valenciennes lose though, they would still realistically need four of the five sides below them to win to send them down thanks to their superior goal difference.

St. Etienne represent the challenge ahead, and they have had a very peculiar season after dropping out of the top flight last year.

Despite being down in 10th - 19 points off the promotion places - no side has scored more than their 61 this season.

It is therefore no surprise that only already-relegated pair Nimes and Niort have conceded more.

Back-to-back relegations looked a possibility before the new year given their woeful defensive record, but 32 points from their 16 games since the start of February has moved them comfortably into mid-table.

The arrival of Niels Nkounkou from Everton has helped, as he has 13 goal involvements in just 19 games from left wing-back.

The club are set to activate the option-to-buy clause in Nkounkou's loan deal this summer, but will more than likely sell him on to a Ligue 1 side for a profit.

Jean-Philippe Krasso is another man who has been instrumental to their surge up the table, contributing to 28 goals in Ligue 2 this season, with a big move also likely beckoning for him.

Team News

Ligue 2 specialist Gaetan Charbonnier remains out for St. Etienne in what has been a rotten season where he has made just seven appearances since arriving from Auxerre.

After losing their places in the side recently, Jimmy Giraudon and Matthieu Dreyer are also both absent with injury.

Valenciennes continue to have a number of attacking options out injured, with Floyd Ayite, Landry Nomel, Aeron Zinga and Marius Noubissi all out.

Defensive pair Matteo Rabuel and Nassim Innocenti will be sidelined again, while Mathis Picouleau continues his recovery from injury.

Goalkeeper Stefan Bajic has been missing since early April, so Lassana Sy should continue between the sticks here.

Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:

Larsonneur; Sow, Briancon, Petrol; Cafaro, Chambost, Moueffek, Fomba, Nkounkou; Krasso, Wadji

Valenciennes possible starting lineup:

Sy; Linguet, Poha, Cuffaut, Mpata; Kaba, Masson, Haouari; Hamache, Grbic, Boutoutaou

We say: Saint-Etienne 2-2 Valenciennes

With a point all that will surely be required, Valenciennes should find enough to pick one up given their strong recent form.

St. Etienne are a free-scoring outfit though, and will cause plenty of trouble for their visitors in this enticing-looking final day encounter.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.