Olympique Lyonnais keen to extend three-game winning run.

2024-10-21

As Olympique Lyonnais look to extend their winning streak in Ligue 1 at home against a resurgent Auxerre, both teams aim to build on recent performances that have sparked hopes for success this season.

Olympique Lyonnais

A 1-0 defeat to Besiktas at Groupama Stadium on Thursday saw Lyon lose for the first time in the revamped edition of the Europa League after three matches, leaving them in 10th place with six points. OL dominated the game, generating 30 attempts with nine on target, leaving the French side frustrated. Manager Pierre Sage echoed this sentiment, stating, "There's a mix of frustration and a reminder of our responsibility to close out the game when we have the chance." He added, "We had several opportunities but didn't take them."

Lyon will now turn their attention to Sunday's game against Auxerre, hoping to extend the longest current winning streak [DLWWW] in Ligue 1, following a 4-0 win over Le Havre. The match featured four different scorers: Abner Vinícius [32'], Malick Fofana [57'], Alexandre Lacazette [71'], and Saïd Benrahma [87']. That victory moved OL up to 7th place with 13 points, three points behind third-placed Marseille after eight games [4W, 1D, 3L].

Lyon are unbeaten in their last 20 home games against promoted sides in Ligue 1 [15W, 5D, 0L] since losing to Angers in December 2015. However, OL lost 2-1 in their last league game against Auxerre in February 2023. A defeat on Sunday will mark the first time the hosts lose two consecutive games against Auxerre since losing three straight from September 1995 to October 1996. A 4-3-3 formation with Rayan Cherki, Lacazette, and Fofana in attack is expected for Sunday's clash with Auxerre.

Auxerre

Auxerre have now taken six points from their last three matches [LLWLW], which is twice as many as from their opening five matches. AJA have picked up all three wins in this campaign on home turf, the latest of which was a surprise 2-1 victory over Reims last Sunday.

Goals from Sinaly Doimandé [16’] and Hamad Traoré [52'] were enough as AJA held on for the victory despite Reims pulling one back in stoppage time. The win helped Christophe Pélissier's side move into 12th place with nine points [3W, 0D, 5L].

Prior to this season, Auxerre had not won three games at this stage since 2009-10, when they eventually finished in third place. Having won the last meeting against Lyon, the visitors will be hoping to make it two wins in a row for the first time in close to three decades.

Pélissier is expected to put out a 3—4—2—1 formation with Florian Ayé in attack.