L’ AXIS is looking for its first success since the 4th day of Ligue 1. It faces Dijon FCO this Sunday (3pm) in the hope of rediscovering the taste of victory. Claude Puel was confident before this 13th day because he was comforted in his ideas by good news.
ASSE under threat from several competitors
ASSE is in the bottom of the wave in Ligue 1 following its last 8 games without a win. The trip of Claude Puel’s team to Dijon, this Sunday, therefore promises to be crucial for the Greens’ journey until the truce. The coach of AS Saint-Étienne knows it, his team must return to victory in order to sink into the red zone. He referred to the match against Dijon FCO as being an opposition between “two direct competitors” for the maintenance in Ligue 1! But the Burgundy club is last with 7 points in 12 days.
Indeed, Claude Puel sees the threat hanging over his team. The DFCO has 7 points and could well approach ASSE (11 points) in case of victory. Not to mention that Nîmes (11 points), Stade de Reims (9 points) and FC Lorient (8 points) are in ambush. And that’s not all ! The Dijonnais signed their first victory of the season last week against OGC Nice (3-1), at the Allianz Rivieira. A defeat which precipitated the dismissal of Patrick Vieira on Thursday evening.
The return of some players delighted Puel
Despite everything, Claude Puel relies on his almost complete team to win in Dijon. “The return of some players gives a little more solutions and it’s good to see almost the entire group available,” he said in a pre-match press conference. Note that apart Yvann Mason, injured in the right knee with the Espoirs Tricolores, Panagiotis Retsos and Gabriel Silva (in recovery), AS Saint-Étienne is almost complete. Kevin Monnet-Paquet returned to the group after Mathieu Debuchy and Ryad Boudebouz. And Claude Puel hopes to have his players available for “the last five games of the year, in order to be in the best physical and mental condition”.
For the general manager of ASSE, his team must regain the state of mind and the determination displayed against OL during the derby and against LOSC (1-1). “We are not allowed to drop below a certain level. We have to be actors. We were in Lyon, we were against Lille, ”he said.
Through ALEXIS
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