Auxerre vs Nice Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 French Ligue 1
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Following promotion last season, Auxerre will begin their season by welcoming a new look Nice that may well have been overlooked this summer with their ownership group, INEOS, taking more of a focus on their Manchester United project.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Sunday 18th August, 2024 - UK – 2:00pm / US ET – 9:00am / US PT – 6:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – TBC / US – TBC
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – TBC / US – TBC
AUXERRE PREVIEW: AUXERRE ON THE ATTACK
Under the management of former Lorient boss Christophe Pelissier, Auxerre come into this season on the back of gaining automatic promotion back to the top-flight as Ligue 2 runners’ up to Angers last season. AJA have made some interesting additions to their squad, too, as they prepare for what will be expected to be a relegation battle.
The hosts brought in Lasso Coulibaly for a relatively small fee from Nordsjaelland early on in the summer as well as Gabriel Osho on a free transfer from Luton Town, who enjoyed an impressive season with the Hatters in the Premier League last season. The Burgundy-based club will be confident of taking advantage of what seems to be a weak bottom-half of Ligue 1.
NICE PREVIEW: ALL CHANGE AT NICE
Now then, there are reasons to actually be positive at the Allianz Riviera this season. Nice have been managed and organised by INEOS in the last few years and they have significantly underperformed the investment of the ownership with some bizarre decisions being made throughout their tenure.
Now that they are potentially an after thought of INEOS, they can become a little more streamlined and focused. Francesco Farioli, who performed well in the first-half of last season, has been replaced by former Lens boss Franck Haise, who did an extremely good job with the northerners in recent seasons.
AUXERRE TEAM NEWS: FULLY FIT AUXERRE
The home team have no injury issues for the opening day of the season so they could name a couple of debutants in the starting eleven with the aforementioned Coulibaly and Osho likely to get the nod.
Pelissier does prefer to play a 4-2-3-1 system and that may actually limit the importance of Osho, who shone in a Luton side that exclusively played a back three system last season.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Leon; Mensah, Osho, Jubal, Akpa; Buayi-Kiala, Coulibaly; Perrin, Raveloson, Sinayoko; Bair
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
NICE TEAM NEWS: REPLACING TODIBO
One of the negatives of your ownership group not really prioritising you would be that key players can depart quite easily and Nice’s key centre-back, Jean-Clair Todibo, has been loaned to West Ham United with Haise having to find a way to replace him at the back.
The southerners are also still without winger Sofiane Diop, who has been unavailable for a few months now after an injury he suffered in the second-half of last season following his move from Monaco.
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Bulka; Lotomba, Dante, Ndayishimiye; Clauss, Rosario, Sanson, Ndombele, Bard; Laborde, Boga
UNAVAILABLE: Diop (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
AUXERRE VS NICE PREDICTION
Auxerre will look to get on the front foot in their first home game back in the top-flight and there will be a responsibility placed upon new signing Theo Bair if he gets the nod after joining from Motherwell in the summer. Nice, though, have a very impressive manager in the dugout and an abundance of quality all over the pitch with Haise’s preferred system of a back three likely to suit their personnel so an opening day win for Nice against newly-promoted opposition would seem a good bet.
AUXERRE VS NICE TIP: NICE TO WIN
