Auxerre vs Monaco Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 French Ligue 1
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Following promotion back to the top-flight of French football last season, Auxerre have started steadily with a win and two defeats as they now welcome Adi Hutter’s strong Monaco side this weekend.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 14th September, 2024 - UK – 6:00pm / US ET – 1:00pm / US PT – 10:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – beIN Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Ligue 1 Pass / US – beIN Sports
AUXERRE PREVIEW: ADDITIONAL HEADING HERE
Under the management of Christophe Pelissier, formerly of Lorient, Auxerre returned to the French top-flight last season as Ligue 2 champions. The Burgundy-based club will be encouraged by their performances at the start of this season with the primary aim for AJA being simply to avoid relegation by any means necessary.
On the opening weekend of the campaign, Auxerre defeated Nice by two goals to one with a Lasso Coulibaly winner coming deep into second-half stoppage-time. After that, Auxerre suffered back-to-back defeats against Nantes and Le Havre respectively but they will find solace in the mitigating factor that they were down to ten men in both of those matches.
MONACO PREVIEW: FOOT ON THE MONAGASQUE
Under the management of former Borussia Monchengladbach boss Adi Hutter, Monaco enjoyed an impressive campaign last season as the principality club managed to finish as runners’ up in Ligue 1 behind the dominant force of Paris Saint-Germain whilst also playing quite an intense and entertaining style of football.
After hammering Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy, Monaco started the season with a 1-0 defeat of Saint-Etienne before then running out as comfortable 2-0 winners at Parc OL against Lyon. Prior to the break, in a controversial encounter, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lens with a late Lens equaliser from the spot at Stade Louis II.
AUXERRE TEAM NEWS: HOEVER OUT
Frustratingly for Auxerre, Ki-Jana Hoever, who joined on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, is missing through suspension this weekend following a red card a couple of weeks ago.
As well as Hoever, the hosts also have quite a few injury issues such as Ghana international Gideon Mensah and another summer signing, Lasso Coulibaly.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Leon; Pellenard, Jubal, Osho, Joly; Raveloson, Owusu, Perrin, Traore, Sinayoko; Bair
UNAVAILABLE: Hoever (Suspended), N’Gatta (Injured), Mensah (Injured), Camara (Injured), Coulibaly (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
MONACO TEAM NEWS: SMART OPERATORS
Once again this summer, Monaco operated smartly in the transfer market with the arrivals of the likes of Lamine Camara from Metz and Jordan Teze from PSV Eindhoven.
The visitors have a couple of injury issues to concern themselves with this weekend as they travel to Auxerre with Radoslaw Majecki and Edan Diop both sidelined through injury.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Kohn; Teze, Singo, Mawissa, Ouattara; Magassa, Zakaria; Akliouche, Minamino, Ben Seghir; Balogun
UNAVAILABLE: Majecki (Injured), Diop (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
AUXERRE VS MONACO PREDICTION
Auxerre have started the season steadily but there will be a concern that their victory over Nice, which came so late on on the opening day of the campaign, is now just an anomaly. Monaco do have the distraction of welcoming Barcelona to Stade Louis II next weekend but that game isn’t being played until Thursday so there is time for Adi Hutter to play a strong side here and a Monagasque victory is to be expected this weekend.
AUXERRE VS MONACO TIP: MONACO TO WIN
