Manchester United's Europa League Tie with Saint-Etienne Could Reopen Old Wounds

The average reaction of Manchester United fans to their side's Europa League round-of-32 draw against Saint-Etienne probably varied according to their age.

For those who are old enough to remember the 1970s, the side are remembered as a former European heavyweight, and the site of the infamous "Battle of St Etienne"—more about that later.

For those old enough to remember the 1990s, the name is probably most associated with a moderately successful indie band.

For Paul Pogba, they are most associated with the fact that his older brother Florentin plies his trade there.

Those who pay close attention to French football will know that Les Verts finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season, and are eighth, though the compact nature of the current table means they are just three points off fourth spot.

They topped their group in the Europa League, earning that spot in the final round of group games by beating Anderlecht 3-2 in Belgium.

They went unbeaten in the group but only mustered three wins; two narrow victories against Azerbaijani side Gabala FC and that final-day win over Anderlecht. In truth, while United's consistency in Europe has been questionable at best, the side from eastern central France should be beatable opposition.

Their geographic location means that this should be an enjoyable and manageable trip for those fans who regularly travel to United's adventures away in Europe.

After a journey that involved a five-hour flight to Kiev and 13-hour train journey to Odessa for the FC Zorya Luhansk game, the trip to Saint-Etienne travels a much more familiar path. Indeed, Google Maps suggests it would take under 13 hours to drive door-to-door from Old Trafford to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Les Verts' home. 

A two-hour flight would get fans from Manchester to Lyon, from where a 45-minute sub-€10 train journey would get them to Saint-Etienne.

Now, while the town is packed with beautiful French architecture, full of interesting museums, evocative cafes and sights to see, travelling away supporters tend to experience a different kind of culture.

The city was a scene of violence during the summer's European Championship.

Ian Herbert of the Independent reported:

"

England fans said the local contingent looking for trouble numbered around 30 and were dressed in black with red crosses emblazoned on their arms. They threw bottles at the English supporters but were intercepted by French police who were monitoring the square from positions surrounding it. 

"

And in September 2015, a group of hooligans associated with Saint-Etienne made the news by destroying a wedding. As Jennifer Newton of MailOnline wrote at the time:

"

Bungling football hooligans wielding baseball bats trashed a couple's wedding reception in France after mistaking the celebration for the leader of a rival gang.

Supporters of French side Saint-Etienne destroyed the buffet and the wedding cake as they rampaged through Chateau de Talance in Denice in the east of the country.

"

Of course, that was not the end of the story. Newton continued, "However, it has since emerged that the thugs smashed up the wrong wedding after their intended target, a gang leader with Olympique Lyonnais Football Club—was getting married five miles away."

Hooligan groups have long institutional memories, especially when it comes to European rivalries that may only occasionally get the chance to be aired. The Battle of St Etienne happened in 1977, but some understanding of that will be important for travelling fans, as it seems unlikely United's trip to France will pass without incident.

In September 1977, Dave Sexton's Red Devils were in the European Cup Winners' Cup. England was facing a bread shortage during a bakers' strike and the Saint-Etienne fans were happy to taunt United's supporters about it.

Richard Tanner of the Daily Express wrote, "French fans taunted and pelted United followers with bread rolls and croissants during the 1-1 first-leg draw, prompting the travelling supporters to go on the rampage in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard and the town."

After initially being thrown out of European competition by UEFA, United were allowed back in on appeal.

As Tanner says, the conditions of United's return was that their home game should be played at least 300 kilometres from Old Trafford. "That left only a handful of English League grounds available, and United chose to play the tie at Plymouth’s Home Park, winning the game 2-0 thanks to goals from Steve Coppell and Stuart Pearson in front of a 32,000 full-house."

A 300-kilometre embargo was never likely to stop the Red Army from assembling.

Of course, the culture of football has changed since those days, but as the wedding-venue incident shows, there are pockets of supporters who take the violent history of hooligan and ultra groups very seriously indeed.

On the pitch, things may have changed by the time the game rolls around, but for now, it is clear that Les Verts are struggling for goals. They scored eight in six games in the group stages but had only scored five in five before the last game.

Only five teams in Ligue 1 have scored fewer than them this season. Their respectable league position is based on a solid defence. They had conceded just four in five in the group stage of the Europa League before that final game. In the league, only Nice and Paris Saint-Germain have conceded fewer.

This is in spite of the fact that they have been conceding the fourth-most shots per game in the league so far—only Nice, Dijon and Metz are conceding chances at a greater rate.

They are taking the third-fewest shots per game, with only Toulouse and Metz below them in the shots-per-game charts. They are, however, taking 67 per cent of those shots inside the box, which compares favourably to United's 58 per cent.  

They are a fairly direct side, hitting 15 per cent of their passes long, compared to United's 11 per cent. 

"

#ASSEEAG #ASSE Quel boulot de @KevzRose pour offrir la balle de but à Romain Hamouma  1️⃣-0️⃣ pour la #TeamASSE pic.twitter.com/dXLqbf9q3X

— Alex (SerialKiffeur) (@alex_indahouse1) December 11, 2016"

Their most creative player is Romain Hamouma. The 29-year-old Frenchman has made an average of 1.9 key passes per 90 minutes. A fast, tricky winger, it is no surprise that he leads the side for successful take-ons—an average of 2.7 successful dribbles per 90 minutes. Only Paul Pogba in the United side is beating that rate, with 2.8.

And speaking of Pogba, plenty of focus will, of course, be on his meeting with his brother. Florentin Pogba is primarily a centre-back—though he can fill in on the left—and is an important part of Christophe Galtier's squad. He has started eight games in the league this season but was a key player in Europe, starting in five of the six group games.

The games remain a long way off for now—February 16 will see the first leg at Old Trafford, with the away leg in France on February 22. Much could change for both clubs between now and then, especially given the January transfer window.

But for those fans planning to travel with the team it no doubt marks an intriguing tie—winnable, accessible, but with a history that means it is unlikely to be dull.

Advanced data per WhoScored.com.