Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
All eyes will be on Parc Olympique Lyonnais when Lyon and St Etienne go head to head in the Derby du Rhone. Les Gones head into the match following a 1-1 draw with Lille and, no doubt, they are eager to return to winning ways against their bitter rivals. Algeria ace Said Benrahma is pushing for a start, while both Mahamadou Diawara and Ernest Nuamah are out of contention with injuries.
Les Verts, on the other hand, head into the local derby following a 2-0 win over Strasbourg, but given their difficulties on the road, we are tempted to put our money on Alexandre Lacazette and Co. In their last meeting in Derby du Rhone Lyon defeated St Etienne 1-0 and we predict that history is going to repeat itself. Midfielder Mathieu Cafaro is banned for the visiting team, while all Ben Old, Pierre Cornud, Ibrahima Wadji, Thomas Monconduit, and Anthony Briancon are out of contention with injuries.
Highlighted Player (Saïd Benrahma):
Said Benrahma is an Algeria international who started his club career at Nice. The pacey winger made his Ligue 1 debut during the 2013/2014 season and after scoring 3 goals in 17 appearances for les Aiglons in the French top flight, he moved to the Championship team Brentford in the summer of 2018.
Said Benrahma was born in Ain Temouchent, Algeria on August 10, 1995 and it has to be noted that he played for the likes of Angers, Gazelec Ajaccio and Chateauroux on loan before joining the Griffin Park outfit. The Algerian footballer impressed in the 2018/2019 Championship season, scoring 10 goals and providing 15 assists for his teammates.
His main position is right winger, but he is used as a left winger as well. Speaking of his international career, Said Benrahma made his debut for the Algeria national team on October 13, 2015 in a 1-0 win over Senegal.
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.