St Etienne vs Bordeaux preview - Sagnol set for hometown return

Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2014 by PA

Any sentimentality will be put to one side with a share of the early Ligue 1 lead at stake as Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol heads back to his hometown on Thursday night.

Les Girondins and St Etienne - tied for second place with 13 points apiece - both trail leaders Marseille by three points and the victorious team at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard will close that gap heading into the weekend.

Sagnol has made a bright start as a club manager, guiding Bordeaux to four wins and a draw from six opening games, and a fifth victory earned at the ground where he started his career would further enhance his reputation.

He told Bordeaux's official website: "There will be some sentimental feeling for me there, but we have targets from this match. They take precedence over the emotional side of things.

"Winning at St Etienne can boost our early season form. There are, however, 31 more games to play after that. So many games and so many things to think about.

"So we will just keep concentrating on the objectives we have set ourselves."

Sagnol admits he would rather his players had more time to recover for Sunday's game against Rennes, but is confident his squad has the necessary strength in depth to cope with the swift turnaround.

"It's restrictive having this game on the Thursday and recovering for the Sunday game," he added. "One day it will work against us but, on another day, it could work in our favour.

"First we will focus on St Etienne, which is the most important thing. I will choose the best possible team even though we are playing again 60 hours later.

"I have a whole squad available and everyone deserves to play."

St Etienne arguably have a greater incentive to win given they visit Marseille on Sunday. Back-to-back wins would therefore see the Massif Central outfit take over at the top.

Les Verts are boosted by the news that their France international goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier has this week signed a new three-year contract.

Coach Christophe Galtier told L'Equipe: "Stephane is now one of the best French keepers. He is moreover, in my opinion, the best goalie in the league.

"When the top of the table is in sight you have to be really solid in defence and Stephane contributes greatly to that end."