How can we do better than before the international break? Difficult for the AJA (9th) which will have to, during the reception of Angers (15th) this Sunday (5 p.m., 12th day L1), find the same dynamic as that which had seen it, over the last four matches , dispose of Reims (2-1) at home, snatch a heroic draw in Lyon (2-2)knead Rennes at home (4-0) and finally defeat OM at the Vélodrome (3-1). The opportunity to sign a third victory in a row, just that, in an Abbé-Deschamps which should be full again.
As for the seven Auxerres mobilized by their selections, no injuries to report said Auxerres coach Christophe Pelissier this Friday at a press conference. Gideon Mensah and Elisha Owusu (Ghana), Gabriel Osho (Nigeria), Sinaly Diomandé and Hamed Junior Traoré (Ivory Coast), Rayan Raveloson (Madagascar) and Théo Bair (Canada) should, barring any surprises, be part of the group to face the Angevins, the first non-relegation players who should not be taken lightly.
A promising balance of power between the two promoted
Because the SCO is solid away this season. After an inaugural defeat in Lille (0-2), Angers drew in Strasbourg (1-1), Marseille (1-1) then Toulouse (1-1) before beating Monaco (0-1) at Louis-II, four games in a row without defeat on the road. The men of Alexandre Dujeux (trained at AJA when he was a player) remain on a 4-2 defeat against PSG with notably, on the Angevin side, the first professional goal of a certain Estéban Lepaul… native of Auxerre and son of the late Fabrice Lepaul, French champion in 1996 with the AJA and died in May 2020 of a road accident, at the age of 43.
In this promoted duel, which will recall the poster of the first home match in the history of Auxerre in the first division (2-2, July 29, 1980 in front of just under 6,000 spectators), the balance of power promises to be interesting. On its great series of invincibility, the AJA proved that it knew how to defend very well by leaving possession to the opponent (34% on average for Auxerre) while showing itself to be formidable in attack (11 goals scored out of the four last matches). Except that Angers is not a team that takes much of the game into its own hands, even less outside. It's up to Auxerre to wrap up the match in the hope of confirming their status as a surprise team at the start of the season.
Pelissier is wary of Angers, “a team of very high caliber away from home”
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Christophe Pelissier, AJA coach, asked about the poster against Angers: “Despite what everyone says, it's not a trap match: it's a very difficult match. When we look at Angers' away results, in the five matches, they only lost the first, they drew in Strasbourg, draw in Toulouse, victory in Monaco, draw in Marseille. We know that it will be a very difficult match for them. We had some great performances against them. teams at the top of the table and paradoxically, we lost all our matches against those who were in our part of the table, with quite heavy scores, conceding three goals almost every time. Of course, it was at the start of the season. must also show that against these teams, we are capable of winning.”
Perrin: “There will be no relaxation on our part”
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Gaëtan Perrin, AJA striker, asked about Auxerre's ability to finally surpass themselves against teams other than the top of the table: “We took advantage of this truce to talk to each other a lot, to talk about this type of meeting which is very important, no less than the others. Angers is also very solid at the moment. We looked at the latest results, especially at A defeat in Lille to start the championship but behind them, we know it's going to be a big match last year, we faced them twice and it was complicated twice. We really take it like the other matches with the. same mentality, same investment and there will be no let-up on our part.”
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