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AJ Auxerre
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 2
Aug 14, 2022 at 2pm UK
Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps
Angers

Auxerre
2 - 2
Angers

Jeanvier (4'), Hountondji (10' og.)
Charbonnier (17'), Sinayoko (31'), Joly (37'), da Costa (69')
Sinayoko (57')
FT(HT: 2-1)
Diony (22'), Salama (77')
Mendy (7'), Ounahi (61'), Sabanovic (83')

Preview: Auxerre vs. Angers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Auxerre and Angers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

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

Jean-Marc Furlan, now in charge of Auxerre, pictured in 2013© Reuters

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.

Angers coach Gerald Baticle on February 4, 2022© Reuters

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.

Auxerre Ligue 1 form:
  • L

Angers Ligue 1 form:
  • D


Team News

Angers' Angelo Fulgini celebrates scoring their first goal with Jimmy Cabot, Nabil Bentaleb and Thomas Mangani on February 4, 2022© Reuters

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


SM words green background

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

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Auxerre vs Angers

Auxerre
38.5%
Draw
23.1%
Angers
38.5%
39
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG12102036102632
2MonacoMonaco1282221101126
3Marseille116232415920
4Lille115421811719
5Lyon115331815318
6Nice1145221111017
7Reims115241915417
8Lens11452129317
9Auxerre115152019116
10Toulouse124351314-115
11StrasbourgStrasbourg113442022-213
12Brest124171622-613
13Rennes113261318-511
14NantesNantes112451417-310
15Angers112451320-710
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne113171025-1510
17Le HavreLe Havre11308823-159
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier112181131-207


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