Saint-Etienne and Nice played out a drab 0-0 draw at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Tuesday in the first leg of their Ligue 1 relegation play-off. 

Neither side were able to muster up a single shot on target throughout the entirety of the encounter, leaving things in the balance ahead of Friday's second leg at Allianz Riviera. 

A cagey opening period failed to burst into life, with Jonathan Clauss' free-kick sailing over before Juma Bah's shot failed to test Saint-Etienne captain Gautier Larsonneur. 

Luan Gadegbeku then tangled with Kojo Peprah Oppong just outside the box, but referee Benoit Bastien was sent to the monitor for a potential penalty check, but he stuck with his original decision of a free-kick for the hosts.

The game followed a similar pattern in the second half, with Zuriko Davitashvili brilliantly cutting inside from the left side and bending his effort narrowly wide of the right post. 

Augustine Boakye then saw his volley land on top of the net before Maxime Bernauer also tried his luck from distance, but both teams were unable to find a decisive winner.

Data Debrief: Attacks fail to fire

On a big day for both clubs, which have some promising attacking players, things failed to sparkle in the final third as neither team were able to land a significant blow here. 

Saint-Etienne edged the expected goals (xG) battle with a total of 0.11 from their seven shots to Nice's tally of just 0.3 from their four attempts, though Bernauer could be key for his team in the second leg. 

The Saint-Etienne defender finished with team-high totals for touches (68), accurate passes (45) and clearances (13), though both Philippe Montanier and Claude Puel will be expecting more from their forwards on Friday.