ASSE vs FC Nantes: Ian Cathro’s Starting Lineup Features Surprises

AS Saint-Étienne steps onto the pitch at a packed Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to face FC Nantes on Saturday, manager Ian Cathro has deployed a starting lineup featuring a couple of notable surprises. Coming off a hard-fought 1–0 away victory against Red Star at Bauer, the club commonly known as the Verts enters this tenth matchday of the Ligue 2 campaign carrying high ambitions to cement its early-season momentum.

Ian Cathro Adjusts the Starting Lineup

Comme indiqué avant le coup d’envoi à 20h45, Ian Cathro comptait officiellement trois absents pour cette rencontre : Gautier Larsonneur, Tamar Svetlin et Paul Eymard. However, the final squad sheet brought a late twist when Sohaib Naïr—a fixture who had contested every previous match—was omitted from the group entirely.

Between the posts, Mamour Ndiaye makes his second start in place of the injured Larsonneur. The defensive configuration features Joao Ferreira on the right flank, while Ben Old occupies the left channel. In the center of defense, Kevin Pedro pairs up with Julien Le Cardinal, with the latter stepping up to wear the captain’s armband.

Midfield Control and Attacking Ambitions

The midfield engine room relies on Aron Csongvai and Maxime Bernauer sitting deep to dictate the tempo. Positioned a step higher to link play are Jakob Breum and Augustine Boakye. Up front, the attacking duties fall to the pairing of Irvin Cardona and Zuriko Davitashvili.

The substitutes bench gives Cathro several tactical options, including Lucas Lavallée, Nathan Kasia, Chico Lamba, Adam Baallal, Nadir El Jamali, Elyes Dhaoui, Mahmoud Jaber, Joshua Duffus, and Thierno Ballo.

Stakes in the Chaudron

Clash meetings between Saint-Étienne and Nantes carry heavy historical weight in French football, drawing intense interest from supporters of both clubs. Securing all three points in front of an electric home crowd would allow the Saint-Étienne side to maintain separation from chasing opponents in the Ligue 2 standings. Conversely, dropping points on home soil against a storied rival risks stalling the positive trajectory established during their recent run in Saint-Ouen.