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

Nantes will look to get off the mark both in front of goal and on the league table when they welcome Auxerre to the Stade de la Beaujoire in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Auxerre made an excellent start, winning on the opening day, but they are also looking to respond to a defeat last weekend.

Match preview

After replacing Antoine Kombouare in the Nantes hotseat, with the club only narrowly avoiding relegation a year ago, Luis Castro has suffered from a difficult start in Ligue 1.

Getting the new campaign underway against champions Paris Saint-Germain was far from ideal, but Nantes held their own defensively in a 1-0 defeat, before facing one of the most promising sides in the division in Strasbourg, who also beat them by the same scoreline.

This is the sixth time Nantes have lost their opening two Ligue 1 matches in the 21st century, and they are one of four teams yet to pick up a point, and one of two yet to score.

Castro will now hope he avoids being the first Nantes manager since 2013 to lose their opening three league games of a new season, while it has also been four years since they lost three in a row at all.

Home form in 2025 offers little excitement though, because Nantes have failed to score in five of their 11 matches here at the Beaujoire this year, but they have still scored more (11) than they have conceded (10) at a venue where goals are at a premium.

Upcoming opponents Auxerre are often welcome visitors though, because Nantes have only lost one of their 10 meetings here in the 21st century, and that came all the way back in 2002, with the last three here all ending in victory for the hosts.

That is a bad omen for Auxerre, who have been impressive so far this season, after beating Lorient on the opening day, and battling against adversity with 10 men for half of the game away to Nice a week ago.

Goalkeeper Donovan Leon’s first-half dismissal while 2-1 down all but ended the game as a contest, but Christophe Pelissier’s men fought stoically to keep the score down to 3-1 with a man disadvantage, and they should bring some confidence into this one.

Auxerre are one of the most threatening teams away from home in Ligue 1 at present, because they have scored in each of their last nine games on the road, and it would be a new top-flight club record if they were to make it 10 here.

Those goals have not always brought success though, because even though they have now scored in 12 straight league matches, they have lost three of their last five, following an indifferent end to last season, where they only avoided the relegation playoff by a few points.

Nantes Ligue 1 form:

L L

Auxerre Ligue 1 form:

W L

Team News

Nantes are without Mayckel Lahdo, who has been injured since moving from AZ Alkmaar earlier in the transfer window, but Matthis Abline has been back in the squad, making two sub appearances despite rumours linking him with a move away from the club.

Adel Mahamoud and Fabien Centonze are still absent from a squad that is dwindling in numbers, with little spent on new players this summer, even though the club recouped £25m from the sales of Nathan Zeze, Douglas Augusto and Jean-Charles Castelletto.

Auxerre will be without Leon in goal after his red card last week, so backup Theo De Percin will deputise after being brought off the bench at Nice.

As well as that suspension, the visitors are without Sinaly Diomande and Nathan Buayi-Kiala for the long term, while Oussama El Azzouzi is yet to make his debut since moving from Bologna due to injury.

In more positive news, there was a debut for Porto loanee Danny Namaso last time out, as the attacker was given 30 minutes off the bench against Nice, but he will hope for a better opportunity in more favourable circumstances this time around.

Nantes possible starting lineup:

Lopes; Amian, Awaziem, Tati, Cozza; Kwon, Hong, Lepenant; Benhattab, Mohamed, Abline

Auxerre possible starting lineup:

De Percin; Senaya, Osho, Sierralta, Akpa, Mensah; Casimir, Owusu, Danois, Osman; Sinayoko

We say: Nantes 0-0 Auxerre

No ground has witnessed fewer goals than the Beaujoire in Ligue 1 in 2025, and this game does not promise to buck that trend, but it does at least offer Nantes a good opportunity to get off the mark, following two difficult opening fixtures.

Auxerre are still something of an unknown quantity, as it was difficult to judge them with 10 men last week, and this match will be a good indicator.

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