This Friday, December 6, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Auxerre (8th) at the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps (kick-off 9pm, broadcast on DAZN in France) as part of Matchday 14 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. And as before every match, here’s a presentation of the Parisians’ opponents.
Auxerre’s situation –
10 years after being relegated from Ligue 2, AJ Auxerre have “finally” returned to Ligue 1 for the 2022-0023 season. This is a great boost for this historically important club, which at times came close to being relegated to the National League.
Except that they went down again…only to come back up again last season, finishing in 1st place in Ligue 2. Now we need to continue on this path and consolidate our place in the elite, even if it’s a difficult mission. We’re off to a good start with our current 8th place, but we have to be wary of a tight ranking where anything can happen very quickly. Europe is not so far away, and neither is anxiety.
It’s coach Christophe Pélissier’s job to keep pushing this team forward, and his arrival in October 2022 to replace Jean-Marc Furlan has so far been a success. In fact, there has been a certain stability this summer.
The 2024 summer mercato –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
Key statistics –
This season, Auxerre is among the 6th best attackers in the league with 21 goals scored (first-placed PSG have 37 and last-placed Le Havre have 10), and has the 10th best defense with 21 goals conceded (PSG are 1st with 11 and last-placed Montpellier have 34).
Auxerre’s top scorer is Hamed Junior Traoré (24-year-old striker), who is 5th in the league with 6 goals (Ligue 1’s top scorer is Bradley Barcola with 10). Gaëtan Perrin (28-year-old midfielder) is Auxerre’s top passer with 4 assists, ranking 9th in Ligue 1 (João Neves and Marco Asensio are first with 5 assists).
Auxerre’s last 5 games –
Only Auxerre possession is shown and Auxerre shots are put first (when data is available).
27/10/2024 (Ligue 1) – Lyon/Auxerre: 2-2. 3-4-2-1 formation. 37% possession. 19 shots (6 on target) vs. 12 shots (8 on target).
03/11/2024 (Ligue 1) – Auxerre/Rennes: 4-0. In 3-4-2-1. 39% possession. 16 shots, including 8 on target, against 7 shots (4 on target).
08/11/2024 (Ligue 1) – Marseille/Auxerre: 1-3. In 3-4-2-1. 25% possession. 10 shots including 6 on target versus 19 shots (5 on target).
24/11/2024 (Ligue 1) – Auxerre/Angers : 1-0. In 3-4-2-1. 48% possession. 10 shots including 6 on target vs. 10 shots (5 on target).
01/12/2024 (Ligue 1) – Toulouse/Auxerre: 2-0. In 3-4-2-1. 48% possession. 4 shots (0 on target) vs. 12 shots (7 on target).
The squad and probable team.
Out – Buayi-Kiala, Coulibaly, N’Gatta (blessures)
The team according to the press in 3-4-3 or 5-4-1 (Le Parisien or L’Equipe):
Traoré – Sinayoko – Perrin
Mensah – Danois – Owusu – Hoever
Akpa – Raveloson – Osho
Leon
Auxerre’s style of play.
Auxerre’s aim is not to win possession of the ball. The idea is first to defend well, then to hurt as quickly as possible when the ball is recovered, without hesitating to play long, passing along the flanks. On the PSG side, mistakes could quickly be exploited. We’ll need maximum concentration and precision to avoid being caught out.
