Valenciennes vs. AJ Auxerre – French Ligue 1 Preview
French Ligue 1 clubs, Valenciennes and AJ Auxerre, will lock heads in a mid-table clash on Sunday, May 15, at the Stade Nungesser. Both teams would proudly accept a win but that will hardly leave any impact upon the final outcome in terms of the current
season. A win for the home side will put them one place above Auxerre in the points table as both sides are heading for a mid-table finish.
Valenciennes
Philippe Montanier’s side will head into Sunday’s game with 43 points to their name, 13th in the League table. Les Atheniens would like to take a win out of this game in order to see a spirited end to the 2010/11 campaign. Valenciennes will be
left with two games after this assignment and the coach would like to get maximum points out of those games.
They have just recorded nine wins from 35 games so far this season, which is one reason for the home side reeling in the bottom half of the table. In their last five games, Valenciennes have registered just two wins to go along with two draws. One match
against Paris Saint-Germain ended in a 3-1 loss for the VA. They have scored 40 goals during the season while 37 have been scored against them.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AJ-Auxerre-c38247
Jean Fernandez’s side would also want to end their season on a high with just three games remaining in the campaign including this game against Valenciennes. The visitors are 10th on the League table with 45 points and a win here could push them
one place up to the ninth place.
The AJA have a possible of nine points to play for and could earn themselves a finish in top seven should they attain maximum points. Like their opponents, Auxerre have also recorded nine wins from 35 matches. In their last five games, the visitors have
notched up three wins while the other two ended in stalemates. They have netted 42 times this season compared to the 38 goals that they have conceded.
Team News
Valenciennes
The home team are expected to go in with a 5-4-1 formation. Gregory Pujol would start upfront as a lone striker. He will be provided with support on the flanks by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicolas-Penneteau-c27844 will be guarding the net for Les Atheniens.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rudy-Mater-c31890 have already been ruled out with an ankle and knee injury respectively.
AJ Auxerre
The visitors will be going in with a traditional 4-4-2 formation. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olivier-Sorin-c28516 will start
in goal for the AJA. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kamel-Chafni-c20261, Jeremy Berthod and Benoit Pedretti.
Players to Watch
The home side will heavily depend on their strike force of Pujol
and Danic, as both combined make up for 24 of the total 40 goals scored by the team. Pujol is their leading goal scorer with 15 and would look to add to his tally once he goes out against AJA.
Auxerre would pin their hopes on midfielder Birsa whose accurate balls could be of an advantage for the visitors. His goal scoring ability from long range is an added advantage for the AJA. The Slovenian has five goals under his belt so
far this season.
Prediction
Auxerre, though playing away from home, hold a slight edge over their opponents, keeping the recent form in mind. Fernandez’s side could edge out the hosts by a 1-0 margin.
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