Lazio enter Thursday’s final Europa League group match against Saint-Etienne at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard having already secured top spot in Group G, despite their Serie A woes.
With both clubs safely through to the knockout stages of the competition, the dead rubber will provide an opportunity to find some confidence and form ahead of the Christmas break.
Unbeaten in all five Europa League outings this season, the Biancocelesti’s domestic form has provided a stark contrast to their European exploits, having suffered five losses in their last six Serie A fixtures.
With no Serie A victories since October and sitting in 12th position, coach Stefano Pioli is under pressure to start producing results, with his current Europa League success a significant reason for him still remaining in the Italian capital.
Saint-Etienne have suffered some indifferent domestic form of their own having lost four of their last six Ligue 1 matches, picking up two victories along the way.
While sitting in a more favourable position of 6th in their league, the French outfit will be keen to play themselves back into early season form which saw them notch five consecutive wins.
October’s first Europa meeting between the clubs at the Stadio Olimpico ended 3-2 to the Romans in a dramatic five-goal thriller where Les Verts ended the match with only 9 men.
Though desperate to return to winning ways, Pioli may find the trip a challenging one with Balde Keita, Stefan Radu and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all missing through suspension, adding to the likes of Stefan De Vrij, Stefano Mauri and Ogenyi Onazi who are already on the sidelines.
Following a knee injury sustained in Monday’s training session, Ricardo Kishna is also expected to miss the midweek fixture.
Meanwhile, Saint-Etienne coach Saun Christophe Galtier will have close to a full squad to choose from aside from injury absentees Robert Beric and Kevin Theophile-Catherine.
Form Guide: Saint-Etienne (W-D-L-L-L) Lazio (W-L-D-L-W)
Expected Starting XIs:
Saint-Etienne: Ruffier; Assou-Ekotto, Perrin, Sall, Malcuit; Pajot, Lemoine; Monnet-Paquet, Cohade, Hamouma; Roux.
Lazio: Berisha; Lulic, Gentiletti, Mauricio, Konko; Biglia, Parolo, Cataldi; Matri, Candreva, Djordjevic.
