Ligue 1 preview – AJ Auxerre vs. Lille LOSC
Defending champions Lille LOSC face AJ Auxerre in the 10th round of the 2011/12 Ligue 1 Championelle on 15th October, 2011 at Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps.
AJ Auxerre
Auxerre have managed to stay undefeated for eight games in their 2011/12 Ligue 1 campaign. AJA conceded a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Montpellier Herault SC in their opening game of Ligue 1. Though the Burgundy club have scored 15 and conceded 11 goals in
their nine league games this season, they do not appear to be major contenders in the 2011/12 Ligue 1 title race.
AJA have only registered two wins this season. Auxerre were completely outclassed in their last game against AS Saint-Etienne. The Burgundy club managed to take lead in the opening minutes, but were not able to hold for as the hosts netted an equaliser in
the 38th minute.
At the moment Lille have not shown their last season’s dominance in Ligue 1. Auxerre will be looking to take advantage of this to pull an upset in the weekend clash. AJA defender Cedric Hengbart told his team to be wary of the offence line of the Nord-Pas
de Calais club.
In an interview to Lille website the 31-year-old was quoted saying, “This Lille side has more offensive weapons than any in the past. The arrival of Benoit Pedretti allows them to play long like they could before. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Cole-c18694 also brings a lot of speed. I think
they are even stronger than last year and when they hit their stride, they will be the best team in the League.”
Auxerre are currently 9th in the Ligue 1 standings and will be looking to improve their standings by a win in the upcoming game.
Lille LOSC
Lille coach Rudi Garcia will be hoping for a more stable version of Les Dogues after the international break. The defending champions have won four and lost one in their opening nine games.
The Nord-Pas de Calais based club won their last game 2-0 against Stade Rennais by scoring two early goals in the first half. The international break gave the champions a much needed break, following a hectic schedule in the last month. “This break, we need
it, especially after a run of seven consecutive games in which we had a lot of draws,” said the former Saint-Etienne coach.
Lille face a team that have an unbeaten record at home this season. The French tactician was quoted saying, “At Auxerre, we know that it’s never easy to get a result, especially because this season they are in good shape.”
Lille face a new set of challenges in the next as they face http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 in Week 11 of the 2011/12 Ligue 1 Championnat. Les Dogues will be looking to continue on the momentum gained from
the last game before they play the Serie A giants.
Team News
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AJ-Auxerre-c38247
Auxerre will be missing the services of Delvin N’Dinga, Rudy Haddad and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Willy-Boly-c36914 are carrying suspensions from their last game.
Lille LOSC
A fully fit squad will be expected against Auxerre as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dimitri-Payet-c11276 and Aurelien Chedjou have recovered from the knee and thigh injuries respectively.
Prediction
Although Auxerre have a good track record at home this season, Lille have a good offensive line with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Moussa-Sow-c26939. Les Dogues will be able to win after a close combat between the two sides.
Predicted final score: AJ Auxerre 1-2 Lille LOSC
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