Nice - Saint-Etienne preview - Cvitanich wary of St Etienne

Nice striker Dario Cvitanich is aiming to add to his goal tally for the season against St Etienne on Sunday - the team the Argentinian ranks in the top three of Ligue 1.

Cvitanich has had his season curtailed due to injury but scored in his previous appearance as Nice were beaten 2-1 at home by Rennes.

The 30-year-old was an unused substitute as Claude Puel's side narrowly eased past Caen last weekend but is ready to add to his four league goals that have gone some way to put Nice on the cusp of the top 10.

"Against Rennes, I played 90 minutes for the first time in three months," he told the club's official website.

"I have not played as much as hoped but I have to keep hoping that the second half of the season is going well. When you see that I have scored four goals in one half of the season, it's not terrible.

"But if you look at my game time, it's better, yes. After a good start (two goals on the opening day of the season), I injured my calf."

St Etienne travel to Nice on the back of Europa League disappointment as they lost 1-0 in Dnipropetrovsk to miss out on the knock-out stages.

But Cvitanich believes they are only trailing behind a couple of Ligue 1's biggest hitters as he looks to help Nice to victory in their final home game before the winter break.

"For me it is the best team after Paris St Germain and Marseille," he added.

"It is a good test for us. We must show what we are capable of doing. We are ending our home matches for the year and, for us and the fans who have always been behind us, we want to win."

Cvitanich and his team-mates will have to be wary of an "angry" St Etienne side as their coach Christophe Galtier looks to bounce straight back from their European exit.

"The group is disappointed and angry," he told www.asse.fr

"This makes sense when you get so close to something. In our eight Europa League games this season, we have conceded only four goals but we did scored three.

"By their qualities and their experience, Inter and Dnipro were the two best teams in this pool. It is in these matches then we see the big difference between the French league and the European competitions.

"This season in the Europa League should enable us to grow as a team."