The record 10-times French champions suffered a poor run in December but have enjoyed a spectacular recovery since then, collecting 17 points from seven league games and qualifying for the League Cup final and the French Cup last eight.
Saint-Etienne, who have not featured in the Champions League for more than 30 years and are fifth in the Ligue 1 table with 44 points, could climb up to third on Saturday if they beat Nice, fourth on 45.
Playmaker Mathieu Bodmer, who featured in only four league games at Paris Saint-Germain during the first half of the season, shone in Tuesday's French Cup 3-2 victory over Lille.
"Competition is really helpful as we saw against Lille. Renaud Cohade and Mathieu Bodmer were back in the starting line-up and they set up one goal each," coach Christophe Galtier (pictured) told reporters.
"Now, you have to score or create goals to start a game," added Galtier, who used to complain about the lack of high-level replacements when his side were struggling late last year.
"There were a lot of changes against Lille but we continue to have good results. It has shown that we're all involved in the project," winger Romain Hamouma said.
The only bad news ahead of this weekend's clash could be their poor record against Nice, who have won their last four league games at Saint-Etienne.
