Épinal and Saint-Étienne meet at Stade Marcel Picot, in a match for this phase of the Coupe de France (Quarter-finals). There is no record of direct confrontations between these two teams in the last 3 years. The last confrontation was played on 12‑03‑1997 and ended with the score: Épinal (2‑1) Saint-Étienne. In this match the home factor may be decisive, since both teams have considerable differences in the results won at home and as a visitor.
Epinal :
The home team arrives at this stage of the Coupe de France (Quarter-finals) after having played previous qualifiers with: Lille, Saint-Pierroise, Sannois-St-Gratien, Mulhouse and Sochaux. This is a stronger team with the support of his fans, since in the last 30 matches he has recorded 5 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses as a visitor, with 14 goals scored and 20 suffered; against 8 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses in his stadium, with 19 goals scored and 9 suffered. In the last game he played, for the CFA, he tied with Reims II at home by (1‑1). In his last 10 home games the Epinal records 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.
For this competition, he does not lose 5 games ago. His attack has scored regularly, as he scored goals in 4 of the last 5 games for this competition.
The Epinal comes to this game with a draw, a ball, at the Reims B reception, adding the second game without tasting the taste of victory in official games. In the last match for the French Cup, the home team beat Lille 2-1. In this game against the fans coach Xavier Collin will have to maintain his usual 4-4-2 tactical scheme, with Makengo being the team’s driver: this player is very competent in creating and organizing the offensive process. On the other hand, Krasso is the top scorer of the Epinal, with 3 goals scored. There are no weight absences for this game.
Saint-Étienne:
The visiting team reaches this stage of the Coupe de France (Quarter-finals) after having played previous qualifiers with: AS Monaco, Paris and Bastia-Borgo. This is a team that curiously has been stronger outside than at home, since in the last 30 games it records 7 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses as a visitor; against 4 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses in his stadium. In the last match he played, for League 1, he lost with Montpellier out by (1‑0). In its last 10 away matches, Saint-Étienne records 4 wins and 6 losses. His defense has not been very solid, since he suffered goals in 8 of the last 10 games, but his attack has scored regularly, since he scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches. In 15 games, he only got 1 comeback in the 10 games in which he suffered the first goal.
Saint-Étienne comes to this match with a 1-0 defeat with Montpellier, adding the third consecutive loss in official matches. In the last round of the French Cup, the visiting club beat Monaco 0-1. In this game away from home, coach Claude Puel is unlikely to make relevant changes compared to the previous eleven, so Cabaye will be the one responsible for organizing the offensive process. On the other hand, the end Denis Bouanga is the top scorer of Saint-Étienne, with 8 goals scored. Out of this game are Khazri, Hamouma and Monnet-Poquet, all recovering from injury.
