Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Lille
Match Time & Date:
11/03/2022
21:00
Prediction: 1-0
St Etienne
Lille and St Etienne face each other in the opening match of day 28 of the new Ligue 1 campaign. Les Dogues failed to defend their title, but back-to-back wins over Lyon and Clermont helped them rejoin the Champions League race. Lille aim to give fans yet another reason for celebration, and they are likely to go all guns blazing at les Verts. Jocelyn Gourvennec should have a full squad to choose from.
Les Verts, on the other hand, aim to build on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Metz. St. Etienne escape the relegation zone at the weekend, but given their anything but good away record in the French top flight, we are tempted to put our money on home team. All Hamouma, Sow, Macon, and Crivelli should miss out through injuries for the visiting team.
Highlighted Player (Jonathan Bamba):
After spending his youth career at CS Paris-Charenton, UJA AlfortVille and Saint-Etienne, Jonathan Bamba started playing for Saint-Etienne II at senior level. In 2015 he was given a chance to prove his worth with the first team and it has to be noted that he scored eight goals in 42 appearances for les Verts in Ligue 1.
Following his loan spells with Paris, Sint-Truiden and Angers, Jonathan Bamba joined Lille in the summer of 2018. The pacey winger born in Alfortville (France) on March 26, 1996, has been playing for les Dogues ever since, but he has yet to earn a cap for the French national team. Nonetheless, Jonathan Bamba has 12 caps with France U21 in which he scored four goals for les Tricolores.
Jonathan Bamba’s main position is left winger, but he is used as a centre-forward as well. The French footballer, whose preferred foot is right, has a contract with Lille until June 30, 2023.
Highlighted Team (St Etienne):
Saint Etienne are a professional football club that compete in French Ligue 1. Les Verts were founded in 1919 by employees of a grocery store chain based in Saint Etienne. Saint Etienne wear green shirts and white shorts when playing at home ground and they play their home matches at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
The stadium was opener on 13 September, 1931 and following the renovation the capacity of the venue increased to 42 000. In 1981 les Verts won their tenth Ligue 1 trophy, but they have been in the shadow of Ligue 1 giants Lyon and PSG in the 21st century.
Speaking of the club’s European success, Saint Etienne made it to the European Cup (Champions League) final in 1976, but Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich proved to be a big catch for the French outfit. Anyhow, that is regarded as the club’s biggest success. It has to be noted that the likes of Michel Platini, Jacques Santini, Laurent Blanc and Aime Jacquet all played for Saint Etienne in the past.
