Buoyed by their impressive victory against Lille, Saint-Etienne will head to Allianz Riviera to face Nice on Friday on matchday five of the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season.

Match preview

Following an underwhelming ninth-placed finish in 2022-23, Nice would have been delighted with how they performed in the first half of the 2023/24 season.

The Eaglets kickstarted the season with a fantastic 13-game unbeaten run, followed by just three losses in the following seven outings, leaving them in second place on matchday 21.

However, a defeat on matchday 21 to AS Monaco marked the start of a steep decline in form that saw Nice fail to win in five consecutive league games, resulting in them dropping into sixth place.

Despite a slight recovery in the closing stages of the campaign, winning four and drawing three of their final nine fixtures, Nice would have been deeply disappointed to finish just fifth after their phenomenal start to the season.

Manager Francesco Farioli added to the club's frustration by moving to Ajax, with former Lens boss Franck Haise stepping in to replace him ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Haise endured a mixed pre-season at Nice, drawing three, winning one, and losing one of their five friendly fixtures, and that inconsistent form has seemingly carried over into the start of the Ligue 1 campaign.

Nice have collected just four points from their first four matches, with a win against Angers and a draw with Toulouse, while suffering defeats to Auxerre and, most recently, Marseille.

While Haise's men were defeated by Marseille last time out, they were the dominant team throughout the 90 minutes, and the manager will be looking for a similar performance with improved clinical finishing when they host St Etienne on Friday.

The hosts are sure to be favourites heading into the game against the newly-promoted visitors, though the Greens will be boosted following their surprise victory against Lille last weekend.

The Greens looked unlikely to be in a promotion battle when they found themselves sitting 10th in the Ligue 2 table on matchday 18, but the appointment of Olivier Dall'Oglio saw the side rapidly climb the standings.

Dall'Oglio lost just four of his 21 league matches in charge of the side, lifting them to a third-placed finish and a place in the playoffs, which they eventually won 4-3 on aggregate in the final.

St Etienne faced an extremely tough return to Ligue 1, suffering defeats in all three of their opening matches and failing to score in each game as they lost to AS Monaco, Le Havre and Brest.

They brilliantly secured their first points of the season last time out, holding on to a sixth-minute goal from Mathieu Cafaro to defeat Lille 1-0, moving them up to 16th in the table.

Dall-Oglio will be hoping his side can achieve a similar upset when they travel to face Nice on Friday, a fixture in which they have won only once in their last seven visits to the Allianz Riviera.

Player injuries:

Nice

(Central Midfielder) Sansone

24 (center) Rappold

10 (left winger) Diop

6 (Central Midfielder) Baldau

9 (Center) Theremus Murphy

Saint-Etienne

7 (midfielder) Monconduit

23 (Central Defender) Briansson injured

25 (center) Waji

27 (right back) Yvonne McCann

11 (left winger) Benjamin Auld

20 (Attack midfielder) Augustin Bockyer

13 (Left back) Mahmoud Bentaiga

possible starting lineup: