Seeking to continue their recent purple patch with a fourth Ligue 1 victory on the bounce, Auxerre welcome Lille to the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps on Saturday afternoon.

Christophe Pelissier's side scraped a 2-1 success over Coupe de France holders Nantes last time out, while Les Dogues returned to winning ways with victory over Montpellier HSC by the same scoreline.

Match preview

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So often a reliable figure in between the sticks for Nantes, Canaris number one Alban Lafont was left to rue a costly error in last week's showdown with Auxerre, who leapfrogged the Coupe de France holders in the standings thanks to their third successive win.

After Jubal scored possibly the most nonchalant penalty the division will see this year, Lafont tried to roll the ball out after catching a corner but only succeeded in finding Lassine Sinayoko on the edge of the box - Lafont managed to tip his deflected effort onto the bar, but Nuno Da Costa was on hand to volley home the rebound.

Despite conceding a late consolation to Mostafa Mohamed's header as Nantes piled on the pressure, AJA dug deep to extend their triumphant streak and rise above Les Canaris into 14th place, albeit just three points clear of the four-team relegation zone with seven games to go.

Pelissier's charges have now amassed 11 points from the last 15 on offer at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps - where they have not lost since January - and they have only shipped two goals in their last 450 minutes of home football, boosting their hopes of a second season in the big time significantly.

Not since the 2009-10 campaign have Auxerre managed to win four successive Ligue 1 matches, but if Lille's most recent journey away from home is anything to go by, optimism should be rife within the walls of the AJA headquarters.

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Imploring his players to find a response to their humiliating defeat to cellar-dwelling Angers, some would have paid a pretty penny for the thoughts of Lille boss Paulo Fonseca after Issiaga Sylla drew first blood for Montpellier at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy last weekend.

However, having turned their home ground into a fortress, Lille turned the tie on its head during a two-minute period in the second half, as Jonathan David stroked home before Remy Cabella headed in from a yard out to keep Les Dogues in control of their continental destiny.

Still sitting pretty in the fifth and final European spot - which would present a path to the Europa Conference League - Fonseca's men hold a two-point lead over closest challengers Rennes, but Monaco are six points clear of Lille in fourth place and will not cede Europa League football easily.

Failure to keep a clean sheet against Montpellier means that Les Dogues can only boast one shut-out from their last eight Ligue 1 matches, and inconsistency has been the theme for Lille on the road this term, having posted just two wins from seven on rival turf since the turn of the year.

Since a 1-0 loss after extra time in the 2013-14 Coupe de France, Lille have enjoyed back-to-back wins over Auxerre by an aggregate score of 7-2, including a 4-1 triumph at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on the opening weekend of the 2022-23 campaign - a harsh welcome back to life in the big time for AJA.

Team News

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Auxerre's victory over Nantes was far from the perfect afternoon for Pelissier, who lost Gaetan Perrin to a thigh injury on the 17-minute mark, while fellow attacker Gauthier Hein was also forcibly withdrawn late on.

It is not yet clear how severe their issues are, but Sinayoko and M'Baye Niang are both on standby alongside Bournemouth loanee Siriki Dembele, while Gideon Mensah (knee) and Han-Noah Massengo (calf) should not return before next month.

Full-back Akim Zedadka - on loan from Lille - must also serve a one-game ban for an accumulation of yellow cards, so Kenji-Van Boto should look forward to an immediate recall on the left-hand side for the hosts, and Donovan Leon will deputise in goal once more after Inter Milan loanee Ionut Radu sustained a thigh issue in the warm-up last weekend.

Pelissier is not the only manager working around a suspension this weekend, as Lille lynchpin Benjamin Andre is also banned for one game for a totting-up of cautions, so Jonas Martin should make just his second Ligue 1 start of the campaign.

Adam Ounas (thigh) and Tiago Djalo (ACL) represent Les Dogues' only two absentees after Ismaily was fit enough to come off the bench last time out - the Brazilian played a crucial role in Cabella's winner and could now demote Gabriel Gudmundsson to the dugout.

David brought up 20 Ligue 1 goals for the season with his strike against Montpellier last weekend - keeping pace with Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race - and the Canadian has fond memories of facing AJA, netting a brace in August's thumping of the newly-promoted side.

Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Leon; I. Toure, Jubal, Jeanvier; Raveloson, B. Toure, M'Changama, Boto; Sinayoko, Da Costa; Niang

Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Diakite, Fonte, Alexsandro, Ismaily; Martin, Andre Gomes; Cabella, Angel Gomes, Bamba; David

We say: Auxerre 0-1 Lille

With Lille missing the unmistakeable midfield presence of Andre while Auxerre work around fresh injury concerns in the final third, sparks may not fly between these two sides, although the red-hot David is always capable of coming up with the goods for Lille.

As impressive as AJA's win against Nantes was, Les Canaris were the masters of their own downfall on that day, and Lille - despite their patchy away form - should do enough to take home all three points, assuming that they show no similar propensity for errors.


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Written by
Ben Knapton

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