Ligue 2 side Auxerre host Ligue 1 stalwarts Marseille in the 2020-21 Coupe de France’s round of 64 on Wednesday.
Auxerre currently sit in fifth place in Ligue 2, while Marseille are seen as Ligue 1’s club in crisis.
Auxerre will be hoping to spring what would be an upset here, while Marseille aim to right the ship by defeating their lower-level opponents.
Auxerre vs Marseille Head-to-Head
Auxerre have enjoyed a relatively strong Ligue 2 campaign thus far in 2020-21. Currently in fifth place in the table, they are just six points away from an automatic promotion spot.
Their recent form has been extremely strong. After starting the campaign in mixed fashion, Auxerre have lost just two of their last 17 matches. With 45 goals scored so far, they are Ligue 2’s top scorers.
Auxerre have already played a game in this season’s edition of the Coupe de France. They defeated current Ligue 2 leaders Troyes on 19 January to progress to this stage.
Marseille, meanwhile, are in a real mess at the minute. Winless since 6 January, last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up have won just one of their last ten games.
Now managed by caretaker boss Nasser Larguet following the departure of Andre Villas-Boas, Marseille slumped to defeat at the weekend, losing 2-0 to Paris St. Germain.
This alarming run of form has also seen their goals dry up completely. Marseille have scored just four goals in their last six matches.
You have to go back to 2012 to find the last time these two sides faced off. Marseille defeated Auxerre 3-0 in that Ligue 1 meeting, in a season that saw Auxerre relegated.
Auxerre form guide: W-L-L-W-D
Marseille form guide: L-L-L-D-L
Auxerre vs Marseille Team News
Auxerre
According to most reports, Auxerre currently have no injury concerns leading into this week’s match. However, defender Gautier Lloris is suspended following a red card at the weekend.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Gautier Lloris
Marseille
Marseille will be without playmaker Dimitri Payet for this game, as he was sent off in the weekend’s loss to Paris St. Germain. Meanwhile, Jordan Amavi and Arkadiusz Milik will likely miss out too due to lingering injury issues.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: Arkadiusz Milik, Jordan Amavi
Suspended: Dimitri Payet
Auxerre vs Marseille Predicted XI
Auxerre predicted XI (4-4-2): Donovan Leon, Alexandre Coeff, Carlens Arcus, Jubal, Quentin Bernard, Axel Ngando, Birama Toure, Hamza Sakhi, Mathias Autret, Remy Dugimont, Mickael Le Bihan
Marseille predicted XI (4-4-2): Steve Mandanda, Pol Lirola, Lucas Perrin, Duje Caleta-Car, Hiroki Sakai, Florian Thauvin, Boubacar Kamara, Alvaro Gonzalez, Luis Henrique, Dario Benedetto, Valere Germain
Auxerre vs Marseille Prediction
Usually a walkover for the Ligue 1 side would be the easy prediction here, but Marseille’s crisis makes this interesting. They can't seem to buy a win right now, but this would be a decent way for them to right the ship.
Auxerre will be no pushovers, as their Ligue 2 form shows, but Marseille should have too much class for them to handle.
Prediction: Auxerre 1-2 Marseille