Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Ligue 1 clash between Auxerre and Marseille, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
In search of just their third win of the Ligue 1 campaign, Auxerre return to Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps on Saturday for a date with Marseille.
These sides are on opposite ends of the table, with the Burgundy club second from the bottom following a 3-0 defeat at Strasbourg and OM sitting third after drawing 2-2 with Angers.
Match preview
Little has gone the way of Auxerre over the past few weeks of the campaign, as they find themselves two points below the relegation line after 10 matchdays.
They are currently on a five-match winless run in this competition, while they have the joint-most league defeats so far alongside Metz (seven).
Christophe Pelissier’s men are in danger of suffering three successive top-flight defeats at Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps on Saturday for the first time since December 2022 to January 2023.
They have failed to find the back of the net in two consecutive league outings and could go without a goal in three straight Ligue 1 fixtures this weekend for the first time since failing to score in their first four matches of 2023.
Auxerre are undefeated in the league this season when scoring the opening goal, emerging victorious in two of those instances, both of which were clean sheets at home.
Last season, AJA had their way with Les Olympiens, a rare sight for them as they won both meetings domestically by a combined score of 6-1.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Marseille have gone from a team that looked unstoppable to one that was extraordinarily human down the stretch of October.
Roberto De Zerbi has seen his side collect just one point from their previous three matches played across all competitions, conceding multiple goals in each of those outings.
This team have given up a combined four goals in their last two Ligue 1 affairs, as many as they had conceded in their previous six matches played in this competition before that.
Heading into matchday 11, they area mere two points behind Paris Saint-Germain for first place in the league, leading the way when it comes to goals with 24.
Their only three defeats in the top-flight this season came away from home, all of which were by a single goal, with OM netting in only one of those encounters.
Les Minots have collected at least a point in seven of their previous eight visits to Auxerre, though their last such triumph against them as the visitors came back in 2023 (2-0).
Auxerre Ligue 1 form:
Marseille Ligue 1 form:
Marseille form (all competitions):
Team News
A knee injury will likely keep Telli Siwe on the Auxerre sidelines, while Nathan Buayi-Kiala is out as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury.
We saw four new faces in the Auxerre fold to begin their contest versus Strasbourg, with Pelissier inserting Sinaly Diomande, Fredrik Oppegard, Assane Diousse and Ibrahim Osman into the starting 11.
Marseille will be missing numerous players through injury on Saturday, including Leonardo Balerdi (calf), Timothy Weah (leg), Geoffrey Kondogbia (calf), Hamed Traore (leg), Facundo Medina (ankle) and Amine Gouiri (back).
Robinio Vaz came on for Michael Murillo to begin the second half against Angers, netting the equaliser before briefly putting them in front 20 minutes from the end.
Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Leon; Senaya, Sierralta, Oppegard; Casimir, Coulibaly, Owusu, Akpa; Sinayoko, Danois; Namaso
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Pavard, Egan-Riley, Aguerd, Palmieri; O’Riley, Hojbjerg; Greenwood, Gomes, Paixao; Maupay
We say: Auxerre 2-0 Marseille
Auxerre do not look nearly as comfortable at home as we saw last season, and their indecisiveness defensively should be a massive concern against a Marseille side who are so deadly in the attacking third.
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