🏏 Sat, 22 Aug 2026 17:15 CEST
RC Lens
vs
AJ Auxerre
3-4-2-1 vs 4-3-3
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Lens open the 2026-27 campaign at home on the back of a runners-up finish, having collected 70 points from 34 matches last season with 22 wins, four draws and eight defeats, 66 goals scored and 35 conceded for a +31 goal difference. Auxerre arrive after finishing 15th on 34 points, with a record of eight wins, 10 draws and 16 losses and just 34 goals scored against 44 conceded. Matchday one asks the visitors whether that gap can be closed.
- The shape battle is Lens's 3-4-2-1 against Auxerre's 4-3-3. Lens push two natural full-backs into the wide midfield roles: Matthieu Udol, the 30-year-old left-footer developed at Metz, and Saud Abdulhamid, the 27-year-old Saudi Arabia international who arrived via AS Roma and became Ligue 1's first Saudi player. Auxerre answer with Clement Akpa on the left and Lamine Sy, a Clairefontaine graduate, on the right.
- Florian Thauvin remains the reference point of the Lens attack. The 33-year-old was part of France's 2018 World Cup-winning squad and scored 86 goals in 281 appearances for Marseille before spells at Tigres UANL and Udinese. Operating on the right of the two attacking midfielders, he still looks to drift inside and unload with his left foot from the edge of the box.
- Abdallah Sima leads the line despite being a left winger by trade. The 188cm Senegal international earned his permanent move to Lens after scoring seven goals at Brest, and his combination of height and straight-line speed stretches back lines. Alongside him is 22-year-old Croatian Franjo Ivanovic at 185cm, giving Lens genuine aerial presence in the final third.
- In central midfield Lens pair 27-year-old Michael Cuisance, whose career has taken in Bayern Munich, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hertha Berlin and Venezia, with 22-year-old Yacine Titraoui, a 170cm Algeria international with five caps to his name. Waiting on the bench is Mali international Amadou Haidara, 28, who spent seven seasons at RB Leipzig and offers extra bite in the duels if the game turns physical.
- The youth of the Lens back line is worth watching. Ismaelo Ganiou, 21, is a 191cm Burkina Faso international schooled in the academy with loan time at Annecy and Padova, while 21-year-old Souleymane Sagnan stands at 187cm. Experience comes from 25-year-old Pole Maik Nawrocki, formerly of Legia Warsaw and Celtic, behind them 21-year-old Robin Risser, a 192cm Strasbourg product and France U21 keeper.
- Auxerre can match that physical profile at the back. Christ Makosso, a 22-year-old Congo international measuring 192cm who was named Young Player of the Year at Luton Town, lines up alongside Sinaly Diomande, 25, who made 72 appearances for Lyon. Behind them stands the towering 204cm Mamadou Diop, setting up a genuine aerial contest against Lens crosses aimed at Sima and Ganiou.
- Auxerre's midfield trio carries the load in possession. Kevin Danois, a 22-year-old academy graduate, blends ball-winning with distribution and is rated as the squad's most valuable asset. He is joined by 24-year-old Naouirou Ahamada, a Juventus youth product who arrived from Crystal Palace after spells at Stuttgart and Rennes, and 21-year-old Belgian Arthur Piedfort, signed from Westerlo, as they try to cope numerically with Lens's four-man midfield.
- Summer turnover shapes both squads. Auxerre sold Ibrahim Osman to Brighton and Lassine Sinayoko to Paris FC while bringing in Labeau Lascary from Brest. Lens let Adrien Thomasson join Rennes, Mamadou Sangare move to Brentford and Anthony Bermont sign for Angers, so the opening weekend is a first look at how both coaches have rebuilt their pecking orders.
- The benches offer contrasting options. Lens can call on 28-year-old Odsonne Edouard, the 187cm PSG academy graduate who has played for Celtic, Leicester City and Crystal Palace, plus 20-year-old academy striker Rayan Fofana, already a five-goal scorer in Ligue 1, and 35-year-old club symbol Florian Sotoca, at the club since 2019. Auxerre counter with right-sided wingers Lasso Coulibaly, 23, who emerged at Nordsjaelland, and Haiti international Josue Casimir, 24.