Lens vs Auxerre – News and Probable Lineups

RC Lens hosts AJ Auxerre at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday afternoon to kick off the 2026-27 Ligue 1 season.

In their last match, Les Sang et Or secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain, winning the French Super Cup. Meanwhile, Les Bleus et Blancs concluded their pre-season with a win against Werder Bremen in northern Germany.

Match overview

Entering their seventh consecutive year in Ligue 1, Lens will be eager for their recent French Super Cup success on Sunday evening to propel them into title contention for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

After their 3-1 Coupe de França final victory over OGC Nice in May, Les Sang et Or played against Paris Saint-Germain for the opportunity to lift this season’s first silverware. Following a goal from Florian Thauvin in the first half, Dino Toppmoller’s side held on to secure their second trophy quickly.

Lens’ first Trophee des Champions win also came after some strong pre-season performances, with them convincingly beating Premier League teams like Sunderland and Crystal Palace, and later winning 3-1 against Villarreal in the final of the second Como Cup tournament.

Having had a remarkably successful year thus far, Lens aims to challenge for the Ligue 1 title more regularly, having finished as runners-up to PSG on two occasions since their return to the top flight, most recently trailing Les Parisiens by six points last season.

After achieving a league double against Saturday’s opponents last season, winning 1-0 at home and 2-1 at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps in October, Toppmoller’s team will surely have confidence in maintaining their strong record against Auxerre as they seek to secure three points on the first weekend of the campaign.

Following a commendable return to France’s top tier in the 2024-25 season, where they finished 11th with 42 points well clear of relegation, Auxerre will be pleased with how the last season concluded as they narrowly avoided the drop.

Spending a considerable 210 days in the bottom three of the table, it seemed inevitable that L’AJA would be relegated back to Ligue 2. However, victories against relegation-threatened Nice and Champions League hopefuls LOSC Lille in their final two games ensured their survival for at least another season.

With their pre-season going largely positively, losing only one out of five matches, Will Still’s team will certainly aim for a more comfortable league experience this season, starting with a challenging fixture against a robust Lens squad.

Even though they enter the match as heavy underdogs, Auxerre cherishes recent memories from their visits to northern France, having secured their latest win at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis with an impressive 4-0 result in April 2025.

Team News

After receiving a straight red card against PSG, 18-year-old defender Kyllian Antonio will be unavailable this weekend, although Lens do welcome Thorgan Hazard back from his suspension.

The hosts continue to miss defensive pair Jhoanner Chavez and Jonathan Gradit as they recover from long-term thigh injuries, while Nidal Celik is approaching a return from a meniscus issue.

22-year-old Austrian Samson Baido, who missed most of the pre-season due to a thigh injury, also remains sidelined along with Odsonne Edouard, who sustained a groin strain in the match against Sunderland two weeks ago.

Auxerre will not have either Bryan Okoh or Assane Diousse available for selection this Saturday, with Diousse ruled out for most of the season after suffering a torn ACL against Werder Bremen last week.

Having sustained a groin injury soon after his transfer from Swiss club Lausanne, Les Bleus et Blancs still await the debut of 23-year-old defender Sekou Fofana, while Marvin Senata is out with a hamstring injury sustained during the World Cup with Ghana.

Lens probable starting XI:

Risser; Aguilar, Ganiou, Nawrocki; Abdulhamid, Bulatovic, Titraoui, Udol; Thauvin, Sima, Ivanovic

Auxerre probable starting XI:

Diop; Sy, Diamond, Akpa, Oppegard; Piedfort, Denmark, Ahmada; Casimir, Zossou, Namaso

Starting the season in strong form, Lens will be aiming to kick off their Ligue 1 campaign with a win at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps on Saturday afternoon.

While Auxerre have had a decent pre-season and recently tasted victory against Les Sang et Or, it seems challenging for them to secure a favorable result in the opening match of the season.