Preview: Auxerre vs Lens - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking consecutive Ligue 1 home triumphs for the first time this year, Auxerre return to Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps on Saturday for a date with Lens.

AJA are 14th in the table after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain last weekend, putting them seven places below Lens, who drew 0-0 with Rennes in their previous match.

Match preview

Six games into the new season, and Auxerre are only just above the relegation line, a point ahead of Angers for an automatic return into Ligue 2.

Scoring goals has been a problem for them early on, as this side have netted just four times in the top-flight so far, with only Angers scoring fewer (three).

Christophe Peilssier’s men have been at their best at Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps, claiming all six of their points there, while posting two clean sheets.

If they can claim another one this weekend, it would equal their longest Ligue 1 run at home without a goal conceded from last season, posting three shutouts near the end of 2024.

They have been much better when it comes to maintaining a lead however, failing to drop a single point from a winning position domestically this season after squandering eight points when scoring first in their final three league fixtures in the previous campaign.

AJ Auxerre were undefeated versus Les Sang et Or in 2024-25, posting their biggest-ever away triumph against them in April (4-0).

Lately, it has been night and day for Lens regarding goals and results, home and away, in this competition, and they will seek a little more balance in both areas going forward.

Lens won their last two matches played at Stade Bollaert-Delelis by a combined margin of 6-1, while they are winless in their previous two away contests without a single goal scored in either outing.

Dating back to the previous campaign, Lens have collected at least a point in seven of their last nine top-flight affairs, though they have only triumphed twice away from home over that span.

After six matchdays, they are once again contending for a place in Europe, just below Lille for a spot in the UEFA Conference League, while only two points currently separate them from Marseille in third.

Pierre Sage’s team have only scored first on two occasions this season, while winning once so far when conceding the opener against Brest in late August (3-1).

Les Sang et Or are undefeated in three successive visits to Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps, playing to a 2-2 draw in this exact fixture last season.

Auxerre Ligue 1 form:

Lens Ligue 1 form:

Team News

On matchday six, Auxerre were without Nathan Buayi-Kiala, who is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury, while Sinaly Diomande had a thigh strain and Fredrik Oppegard is eligible to return from his red card suspension.

Pelissier made two changes to his starting 11 for that clash, with Clement Akpa replacing the suspended Oppegard and Josue Casimir coming in for Sekou Mara.

As for Lens, Deiver Machado missed another encounter last week with a knee issue, while Fode Sylla was dealing with a knock and failed to feature.

Jonathan Gradit made the wrong kind of history on matchday six, being sent off before the match was a minute old, the fourth person this century to do so in a Ligue 1 affair and thus, he will be suspended for this game.

Auxerre possible starting lineup:

Leon; Senaya, Siwe, Sierralta, Mensah, Oppegard; Sinayoko, Owusu, Danois, Loader; Mara

Lens possible starting lineup:

Risser; Abdulhamid, Baidoo, Sarr; Aguilar, Sangare, Thomasson, Udol; Thauvin, Said; Edouard

We say: Auxerre 0-0 Lens

At home, Auxerre are much more compact and stable defensively, and we believe they will do just enough to keep Lens at bay, with the latter not as sharp in the attacking third outside Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.