Auxerre and Angers will both aim to pick up their first wins of the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season in Sunday afternoon's showdown at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps.
The newly-promoted hosts were thumped 4-1 by Lille upon their return to the top flight, while Les Scoistes' battle with Nantes ended goalless.
Match preview
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Facing 2020-21 Ligue 1 champions Lille away from home was the true definition of a baptism of fire for Auxerre, who became the first victims of the Paulo Fonseca-led Dogues in a 4-1 romping at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Benjamin Andre's thunderbolt, two efforts from Jonathan David and a powerful Akim Zedadka strike put Auxerre to the sword before Gaetan Charbonnier scored the goal of the day, taking a long pass from Quentin Bernard down beautifully before lofting the ball over Leo Jardim.
Charbonnier's effort was nothing more than a consolation for Jean-Marc Furlan's side, who face a quintet of challenging fixtures against Montpellier HSC, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille and Rennes in the wake of their battle with Angers.
Keeping AJA up on an extremely tight budget would represent a notable success on Furlan's already extensive CV, and the hosts can take solace in the fact that Angers are visiting a ground where Auxerre have won five of their last six - the outlier being a 1-1 draw with Saint-Etienne in the promotion/relegation playoffs.
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A glut of goals were to be had at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy last weekend, but it was a completely different story at the Stade Raymond Kopa, as neither Angers nor Nantes could breach the other's defence in the only goalless stalemate of matchday one.
Alban Lafont and Paul Bernardoni were both called into action to preserve their side's clean sheets in an evenly-matched contest, and a friendly run of fixtures now awaits Gerald Baticle's side as they aim to put a first win on the board.
Brest, Troyes and Reims are all waiting to do battle with Les Scoistes following Sunday's clash with Auxerre, and Angers prided themselves on their bright start to the 2021-22 season, with a similar story this time around surely not going amiss.
However, Angers only managed to pick up two league wins away from home in the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign, and their winless run on the road currently stands at 10 matches since a 2-1 success at Reims' headquarters back in December.
Auxerre and Angers have not locked horns competitively since their days in Ligue 2, and Les Scoistes went unbeaten in six second-tier games against their upcoming hosts between 2012 and 2015 before returning to the big time.
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Team News
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Auxerre announced earlier this week that defender Theo Pellenard had undergone successful surgery on the ACL injury that he suffered in pre-season, and he will now spend several months rehabilitating.
Furlan should otherwise be working with a fully-fit squad barring the afflicted Pellenard, and interestingly, the AJA coach limited himself to just two changes throughout the entire 90 minutes against Lille.
Former Brest defender Denys Bain will hope to be given the opportunity to strut his stuff in the backline this week, either alongside Jubal or former Brentford man Julian Jeanvier.
As for Angers, the luckless Sofiane Boufal may be able to make his return from a hamstring injury this weekend, and the same can be said for Himad Abdelli, who was a last-minute absentee against Nantes with a knee issue.
Ulrick Eneme-Ella and Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Abdallah Sima are both still out, though, with the latter potentially absent until the end of August with his own thigh issue.
Baticle will also welcome Nabil Bentaleb back from suspension, and the 27-year-old's return could allow Pierrick Capelle to shift out wide and displace Adrien Hunou.
Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Costil; Pereira, Jubal, Bain, Bernard; Toure; Hein, M'Changama, Sakhi, Autret; Charbonnier
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Sabanovic, Hountondji, Blazic, Doumbia; Mendy, Bentaleb; Boufal, Ounahi, Capelle; Diony
We say: Auxerre 0-1 Angers
Keeping out the Coupe de France winners was a notable feat for Angers, who will be desperate to prove that their away-day frailties are a thing of the past this weekend.
A trip to a leaky Auxerre side is certainly the perfect place to do that, and with Boufal and Bentaleb both back in the fold and raring to go, Les Scoistes should do enough to get over the line.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
