Clermont take on Auxerre at the Gabriel Montpied Stadium on Sunday, as they look to make it two wins in a row in Ligue 1.
The visitors are without a win in five league games, and will be wanting to get their season back on track with a victory on the road.
Match preview
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Clermont will be looking to improve on their last season, having finished 17th in the league, only avoiding the relegation playoff by four points.
Pascal Gastien has good reason to be optimistic about having a better league campaign this year, with his side currently ninth in the table, on 13 points, enjoying a steady start to their second season in Ligue 1.
Last time out, The Lancers left it late but emerged 3-1 victors away at AC Ajaccio, with Elbasan Rashani and Jodel Dossou notching their first league goals of the season to secure all three points for their side.
The win was a second in four games for Clermont, also beating Toulouse in a comprehensive 2-0 win at the start of September, and getting a point on the road in a stalemate at Strasbourg the following weekend.
Of the home side's four league losses this season, three of them have been against Ligue 1's current top three, Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille and Lorient, so it is not like The Lancers have been losing games to teams around their level, and at this stage they are looking like a much stronger outfit than they did last season.
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Auxerre recorded back-to-back wins at the end of August, triumphing over Montpellier HSC and Strasbourg, but since then they have found themselves in a rut, losing four in a row before drawing in their last match against Brest.
It was a hard-fought point for Jean-Marc Furlan's side, making it difficult for themselves when Julian Jeanvier was dismissed in the 52nd minute, before Islam Slimani gave the opposition the lead, but M'Baye Niang restored parity for his side with a late penalty.
A lack of goals has been a big problem for Auxerre this season, only scoring nine times in the league so far, an amount that only three other clubs have failed to reach.
Part of the issue has been the lack of a consistent goalscorer, with Mathias Autret being the only player on a tally of at least two goals, and the rest of the attacking contributions being distributed between seven other players.
Not only have they struggled going forward, Auxerre have the worst defence in Ligue 1, conceding 20 goals in nine games, looking particularly poor at the back in a 5-0 drubbing at Rennes in their last away match.
If The White and Blues are to emulate what their opponents did in the 2021-22 season, and survive in their first season back in Ligue 1, they will need to put an end to this poor form soon, with their current performances leaving them just one point above the relegation playoff position.
Team News
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Jeremie Bela sustained a muscle injury in Clermont's last home match against Troyes, and while it is not thought of as being too serious, the midfielder is unavailable for at least another game.
Elsewhere in the team, forward Baila Diallo is still absent for his side, suffering from an ankle injury that leaves him out of contention for at least another week, with Jim Allevinah missing out with a groin issue.
Dossou and Rashani have made their case to their manager that they should be starting, after both scoring goals as substitutes against Ajaccio, with striker Komnen Andric likely to miss out after failing to score in his last seven games.
Mateusz Wieteska has been indispensable to his side in defence after joining from Legia Warsaw in the summer, playing every match for his new team, and is set to start again, while veteran midfielder Maxime Gonalons will be the preferred choice in central midfield.
For the visitors, Jeanvier will be unavailable for selection in defence after receiving a red card in the last match, with Denys Bain likely to get the nod in his absence.
Top scorer Autret and fellow winger Gauthier Hein were not in the squad that faced Brest, with the pair having injury troubles that are looking likely to rule them out until later this month.
Potentially filling in on the flanks will be Nuno Da Costa and Lassine Sinayoko, who both started the game last week.
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Caufriez, Seidu, Wieteska; Borges, Gonalons, Gastien, Magnin, Cham; Dossou, Rashani
Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Costil; Joly, Jubal, Bain, Bernard; Toure, Sakhi, Sinayoko, Changama, Da Costa; Niang
We say: Clermont 2-0 Auxerre
With Clermont making a solid start to the season, we expect them to win this one without too much trouble.
The home side were 3-1 victors against Ajaccio, who were promoted to Ligue 1 alongside Auxerre last season, in their last match and so they should be expected to win in similar fashion here.
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