Auxerre eye end to four-game winless run in Lille clash.
[introduction]
After a 3-1 loss to Strasbourg in the first fixture of the new calendar year, newly promoted Auxerre take on Lille, hoping to end a four-game winless run. Auxerre vs. LOSC Lille kicks off at 20:00 [GMT] on Friday, January 10, at Stade de l’Abbé Deschamps.
[home]
Newly promoted AJ Auxerre [WLDDL] were left with a four-game winless run after last weekend’s 3-1 loss to Strasbourg. They started on a bright note, picking up an early goal inside the first fifteen minutes through Hamed Traore [14’] before conceding three times despite having almost twice as many shots on target as the opposition. The loss left Auxerre without a win in any of their last five games in all competitions [0W, 2D, 3L], signalling a significant drop in form having won four of their previous five [4W, 0D, 1L] beforehand. Defeat in the mid-table clash left AJA dropping into 9th place with 21 points [6W, 3D, 7L]. Christophe Pélissier will be hoping to steer his side to a win on Friday despite a six-game winless run against the visitors [0W, 3D, 3L]. However, with five wins in eight Ligue 1 home games this season [5W, 2D, 1L], already as many as in their last season in the top flight in 2022-23, the newly promoted side could draw inspiration from those numbers. A 3—4—2—1 with Lassine Sinayoko in attack is expected. Meanwhile, Rayan Raveloson is suspended for Friday’s game.
[away]
Lille [WDWDD] picked up their third draw in five games after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with troubled FC Nantes. Gabriel Gudmundsson [40’] had put Lille in front and on the way to an eighth win for the season until Matthis Abline [P. 70’] came up with the leveller from the penalty spot. Les Dogues remain in 4th place with 28 points [7W, 7D, 2L], two points adrift of Monaco, whom they would be looking to leapfrog. An 18-game unbeaten run across all competitions [10W, 8D, 0L] reiterates Lille’s resolve for a top-three finish. Meanwhile, escaping defeat on Friday would see Les Dogues equal the longest unbeaten run in their history, set between October 1973 and March 1974 [19]. Jonathan David is expected to lead the attack in a 4—2—3—1 formation. As many as five players are ruled out for Lille, including Ethan Mbappe and Samuel Umtiti. In other related news, with the January transfer window now open, Akim Zedadka [29] has now departed Lille after arriving in the summer of 2022 from Clermont Foot 63. ‘LOSC thanks Akim Zedadka for his professionalism and wishes him the best for the rest of his career,’ an official statement from the club’s website read following the player’s transfer to Piast Gliwice [Poland].
