- 1 Lyon vs Auxerre: eight goals shipped in two games, and the numbers tell the story
- 2 Lyon are rolling in the league despite the European disappointment
- 3 Auxerre are paying for a defence in freefall despite a record spend
- 4 Ligue 1 prediction Lyon vs Auxerre
- 5 First, a quick word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Lyon vs Auxerre: eight goals shipped in two games, and the numbers tell the story 
AJ Auxerre have conceded eight goals in two Ligue 1 matches. No other side in the division has shipped more than five over the same stretch.
That defensive mess has left the Burgundy club bottom of the table, pointless and struggling already.
The game takes place on Friday 4 September at 19:00, local time, at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
Lyon go into it fourth, with four points, one goal conceded and only Monaco above them.
The Gones opened their campaign with a 2-0 win at Toulouse before being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Le Havre.
Their European week went badly wrong, though: they were dumped out by Fenerbahce in the final round of Champions League qualifying after seeing off Sparta Prague.
Against Auxerre, Lyon’s record is huge: seven home matches unbeaten, five of them wins, plus a 3-2 victory in the last meeting.
Auxerre have never won at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais and have not beaten Lyon away since 2009.
Auxerre finished the 2025-26 season just two points above OGC Nice, who were in the relegation playoff spot.
That escape by the skin of their teeth explains the jittery start they have made since the August restart.
Lyon, by contrast, ended that same season in fourth, their best finish for seven years.
Lens beat Auxerre 5-2 on the opening weekend, with Florian Thauvin scoring from the spot in the 12th minute.
That early warning sign was not fixed the following week at home.
Lyon are rolling in the league despite the European disappointment 
Three scored, one conceded in two games: Lyon’s defence is the second tightest in Ligue 1, behind Monaco.
That solid base carries over from a 2025-26 campaign that finished with a fourth-placed finish, the club’s best for seven years.
The 2-0 win in Toulouse on the opening day put Paulo Fonseca’s side right near the top straight away.
The 1-1 draw at Le Havre on Saturday night was the blemish, points dropped at home to a promoted side sitting on one point.
The Champions League exit against Fenerbahce does, however, clear a calendar that was shaping up to be brutal.
The transfer market has already left its mark on the XI: Ainsley Maitland-Niles joined Everton on the final day of the 2026 summer window for a fee said to be around five million euros.
Zachary Athekame is the natural fit on the right, while summer signing Julien Duranville remains out with a muscle injury.
Ruben Kluivert played the full match in Europe before being rested last weekend, which points to a return on Friday.
Lyon’s four points from two games are bettered only by Monaco, the only club still on six.
Their next three fixtures are all against teams currently in the top half.
So Friday feels like the last winnable-looking stop before the real squeeze begins.
Young forward Rémi Hibert remains doubtful after missing last weekend.
One goal conceded in two games: Lyon have the second-best defence in the division, only Monaco are stronger.
That is the main reason the Gones have every chance of staying up near the top this season.
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Auxerre are paying for a defence in freefall despite a record spend 
Zero points, eight goals conceded: Auxerre have the worst defence in Ligue 1 after two rounds.
The hammering at Bollaert-Delelis on opening day, a 5-2 loss to Lens, had already set the tone.
The following weekend at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps, the home match with Angers was supposed to be the fix. It ended 3-1 to the visitors.
The bleak start looks even worse given the club spent 17.6 million euros this summer, a record in its history and almost three times its previous high for a single window.
Will Still, who took over the Burgundy dugout in June 2026, is dealing with a long injury list that makes life far harder.
Bryan Okoh and Assane Diousse are recovering from ACL injuries and will not be back before the new year, while Francisco Sierralta remains sidelined.
Marvin Senaya and Sekou Fofana have also joined the list, with hamstring and groin problems respectively.
Axel Tuanzebe and Cameron Archer, signed on Tuesday, could be involved as early as Friday, as could Rémy Labeau Lascary, who scored against Angers just before the break.
Angers had gone 10 league games without a win before turning up at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps and leaving with all three points.
That tells you plenty about Auxerre’s problem: they handed their first win of the season to a team stuck in a rut.
Rémy Labeau Lascary, 23, should keep his place on the left after finding the net against Angers just before half-time.
Will Still, back in Ligue 1 after his spell at RC Lens, signed a two-year deal with the Burgundy club.
Auxerre’s eight goals conceded are three more than any other defence in Ligue 1.
They are also the only team in the league with no points after two matches.
Expected Lyon XI: Greif ; Athekame, Bacher, Niakhaté, Tagliafico ; Bidstrup, Morton ; Nuamah, Tolisso, Boudache ; Openda.
Expected Auxerre XI: Diop ; Sy, Diomande, Legros, Akpa ; Ahamada, Piedfort, Danois ; Faivre, Namaso, Labeau Lascary.
Ligue 1 prediction Lyon vs Auxerre
Our pick: Lyon to win with a -1 handicap, meaning a home victory by at least two goals
Auxerre conceded five at Lens and three against Angers, and neither of those attacks carries the same threat as Lyon’s.
Lyon have not lost at home to the Burgundy side in their last seven meetings at the Parc, and the European distractions have gone after the Fenerbahce exit.
With the visitors leaking eight goals in two matches and a squad missing six players, the gap should open up at the Parc OL. Lyon should win comfortably.
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