🏏 Fri, 4 Sep 2026 19:00 CEST
Olympique Lyonnais
vs
AJ Auxerre
4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1
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- Lyon sit fourth after two matches on four points (1W-1D, goal difference plus two) and host bottom-placed Auxerre, still without a point after two defeats and a minus-five goal difference. Lille lead the way with seven points from three games, while Paris Saint-Germain languish 11th on two, so an unbeaten start already has Lyon in the mix at the top end of the table.
- Lyon's form line reads W-D. They opened with a 2-0 win at Toulouse, keeping a clean sheet on the road, then were held 1-1 at home by Le Havre. Three goals scored and only one conceded in two outings speaks to a solid defensive base, but dropping further points at home is not an option if they want to stay in touch with Lille and Monaco.
- Auxerre have lost both matches so far. They were overrun 5-2 at Lens on the opening weekend and then beaten 3-1 at home by Angers. Eight goals conceded in two games is precisely why they prop up the 18-team table, and tightening up a young back line is the immediate priority before results can follow.
- Two former Lyon players line up in the away squad. Centre-back Sinaly Diomande, 25 and an Ivory Coast international, made 72 appearances for OL and is a physical, duel-winning defender comfortable stepping into build-up. Attacking midfielder Romain Faivre, 28, joined Lyon from Brest for a reported 15 million euros earlier in his career and now returns on loan from Bournemouth, a left-footed technician who thrives in tight spaces.
- Lyon's front three offers three different threats. Belgium international Lois Openda, 26, made his name with a prolific spell at Lens before moves to RB Leipzig and Juventus, where he managed just two goals in 34 games, and is back in Ligue 1 to rediscover his running power in behind. Czech number 10 Pavel Sulc, 25, scored 47 goals in 167 matches for Viktoria Plzen, while Ghana's Ernest Nuamah, 22, brings 18 caps and four international goals from the left.
- The midfield contrast is stark. Lyon field captain Corentin Tolisso, 32, an academy graduate who won the 2018 World Cup and the Champions League with Bayern Munich, alongside Liverpool-schooled holding midfielder Tyler Morton, 23, and Denmark's Mads Bidstrup, 25, a veteran of Brentford, RB Leipzig and Salzburg. Auxerre counter with a young double pivot of Kevin Danois, 22, their academy product and highest-valued asset, and 21-year-old Belgian Arthur Piedfort, signed from Westerlo.
- There is serious height on show. Lyon pair 190cm left-footed Senegal international Moussa Niakhate, 30, formerly Mainz captain and a Nottingham Forest player, with 190cm Austrian Felix Bacher, 25, behind 197cm Slovakia goalkeeper Dominik Greif. Auxerre answer with 192cm Congo international Christ Makosso, 22, once Luton Town's Young Player of the Year, and the remarkable 204cm frame of Senegalese goalkeeper Mamadou Diop between the posts.
- The full-back duels should shape the width. Lyon's Brazilian left-back Abner, 26, played 142 matches for Athletico Paranaense and lives high up the pitch, delivering crosses from advanced positions. He will be tracked by Auxerre right-back Lamine Sy, 24, a Clairefontaine graduate who compensates for his 171cm frame with pace and relentless running. On the other flank, Ivory Coast left-back Clement Akpa, 24, must handle Nuamah's directness.
- Both benches carry match-changers. Lyon can turn to Nicolas Tagliafico, the 34-year-old Argentina left-back who won the 2022 World Cup and three Eredivisie titles with Ajax, 188cm United States holding midfielder Tanner Tessmann, 24, and 20-year-old Noah Nartey, twice named the Danish Superliga's young player of the month at Brondby and a scorer on his Ligue 1 debut. Auxerre look to Haiti winger Josue Casimir, 24, a Le Havre academy product who cuts in from the right.