Eliaquim Mangala says "everything is positive" in the Saint-Etienne camp ahead of Sunday's relegation/promotion play-off second leg with Auxerre that the centre-back calls "the match of the season."
Saint-Etienne, who finished third from bottom of Ligue 1 Uber Eats, headed to Burgundy for Thursday's first leg and came away with a 1-1 draw. The return will be played in front of a passionate Stade Geoffroy-Guichard crowd as Les Verts — joint-record French champions with 10 titles — play for their top-flight future.
"It's the match of the season, we know what's at stake," said Mangala. "Everything is positive after the first leg. The most important thing will be to handle the emotions. After a difficult season, nerves come into it. So we'll have to be very positive during the game. We'll play with the support of our fans, and if we don't concede a goal, we'll stay up. So we'll have to defend, but not play for a 0-0 either."
Lucas Gourna-Douath is a doubt for the match after missing his side's last training session before the game, but Mickaël Nadé should be available after feeling the fatigue of a trying season following the first-leg stalemate.
"My staff and I have thought about everything," replied coach Pascal Dupraz when asked if he had prepared his team for the possibility of extra-time and a penalty shoot-out. "We're going to be at 1000% because our aim is to keep Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1."
He added: "The key thing will be to play the game, to control it from start to finish, not just in periods. To do that, I'm also counting on the players on the bench to have a positive attitude. That's what being a team means."
Only one team of seven previous to have drawn the first leg of the play-off tie at home has gone on to win, though Racing Paris did manage to do that against Saint-Etienne back in 1984. Auxerre would have been heading south with a defeat had Gaëtan Perrin not struck four minutes from time to cancel out Zaydou Youssouf's early goal.
Auxerre have not lost on their last 10 away trips in all competitions, but coach Jean-Marc Furlan is fully aware of the scale of the task in hand.
"The first leg draw is not a great result, because we'll have to go to the Stade Geoffory-Guichard to play and it'll be difficult," explained the man who has masterminded a record four promotions to the top flight with Troyes and Brest.
"The players struggled to adapt to the tempo of a Ligue 1 side, but I'm happy with their reaction. We've found it tough to score in recent games. The players are happy not to have lost at home and to have levelled it up. That gives us a slim chance."
Probable teams
Saint-Etienne: Bernardoni; Sacko, Moukoudi, Nadé; Maçon, Camara, Douath, Trauco; Nordin, Crivelli, Bouanga (cap.).
Auxerre: Léon; Arcus, Jubal, Pellenard, Bernard; Touré (cap.); Sinayoko, Hein, Sakhi, Autret; Charbonnier.
