Auxerre v Lens

Auxerre vs Lens Preview

This weekend marks the final round of fixtures in the French top flight and features this upcoming clash between Auxerre and high-flying Lens, the latter being a revelation in this season's Ligue 1 campaign while the hosts desperately require all three points to make certain of their domestic top flight survival.

Auxerre find themselves perched just above the relegation zone in Ligue 1 where they hold a fragile looking two-point cushion over fourth from bottom club, Nantes, but even a point may not be enough for Auxerre if Nantes register a win as Auxerre possess an inferior -7 goal difference heading into the final day of the season.

It's been a tough season for Auxerre who have managed to capture just eight wins throughout this whole Ligue 1 campaign but the glimmer of hope for the hosts is that five of these eight wins have been achieved on home soil.

However, despite their lowly position in the table, Auxerre have staged a recovery as they have lost just once in their last eight home games, while five of these eight matches have also seen both teams score.

Lens occupy second place in Ligue 1 and although they cannot catch the league leaders, PSG, as they trail this season's champions by a four point margin with just one game remaining, the visitors can be mightily pleased with how their campaign has unfolded as they have secured a Champions League spot for next season.

A sustained and excellent sequence of results has helped Lens onto the stage amongst Europe's elite for next season and the visitors have thoroughly deserved their success as they suffered just one defeat out of their last 14 matches overall in Ligue 1, whilst also picking up 11 wins in the process.

Their one defeat during this period was a 3-1 loss away at PSG but Lens won't mind this too much, especially with a financially lucrative Champions League campaign to look forward to next term.

The goals market looks particularly inviting as seven of Lens' last 10 away games have also seen both teams score and this has been helped by the fact that Lens have scored in each of these last 10 away games too.

Auxerre v Lens Verdict

Auxerre will be hoping that their recent resurgence can help them at least avoid defeat here but the hosts really need to press forward in this fixture to claim the all-important three points, while Lens have been in solid form all season and the visitors should at the very least hit the back of the net here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Both Teams To Score YES @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.60

Correct score: 1-1 @ 7.00