Newly promoted Auxerre take on AS Monaco in weekend clash.

2024-09-15

Auxerre faces a formidable challenge at home as they aim to halt their losing streak against high-flying Monaco, who arrive buoyed by a string of promising performances and a resilient track record against newly promoted teams.

Auxerre

Newly promoted Auxerre kicked off their season with a win over OGC Nice. However, their promising start has been overshadowed by back-to-back defeats.

A 2-0 defeat away at Nantes on Match Day 2 was followed by a 3-1 defeat away at Le Havre just before the break. AJA had a man sent off in both defeats, which will leave disciplinary concerns for manager Christophe Pélissier.

Ado Onaiwu was the culprit against Nantes, while Ki-Jana Hoever was the one dismissed last time out at the stroke of halftime. AJA are 13th on the table, having picked up three points after three matches [1W, 0D, & 2L].

They will be back on home soil since Match Day 1, when they take on Monaco on Saturday, in what will be their biggest test yet. Defeat here will see AJA equal their longest losing streak under Pélissier across all competitions [3].

Meanwhile, a gloomy atmosphere precedes Saturday’s clash, considering the home side's recent league results against the visitors. The hosts have lost their last two Ligue 1 meetings against Monaco, both coming in the 2022–23 season.

Auxerre have only had a longer losing streak against Les Monégasques in the top flight between November 1998 and March 2000, when they lost four straight encounters. A 4-2-3-1 with Thelonius Bair in attack may be seen against Monaco, while Hoever is suspended for this clash.

Monaco

Monaco dropped points for the first time this season after settling for a 1-1 draw in a dramatic fixture against Lens. Denis Zakaria found the net with just six minutes left to play, a goal thought to have secured all three points for the Monégasques. However, a controversial penalty was converted in stoppage time by Przemyslaw Frankowski, ensuring the points were shared.

Despite the draw, Monaco's manager Adi Hütter called it "a logical draw," citing his team's performance as "not accomplished enough." Les Monégasques currently sit in fourth place with seven points, just two points behind table-topping PSG. Hütter will hope his team can maintain their good form against newly promoted sides as they prepare to face Auxerre.

Monaco have been strong against newly promoted sides, having lost only one of their last 18 Ligue 1 games against them. The expected lineup is a 4-2-3-1 formation with Folarin Balogun spearheading the attack. Balogun, who recently provided an assist for the USA in a 1-1 draw with New Zealand, will be eager to open his scoring account in Ligue 1 this season.