Preview: Lille looking to equal club-record unbeaten run vs. Auxerre

Bruno Génésio's men are hoping to equal a record which hasn't been reached for over four decades when they travel to Stade Abbé Deschamps to face Auxerre on Friday evening.

Les Dogues of LOSC will be aiming to equal a club-record unbeaten run when they travel to Auxerre in Ligue 1 McDonald's second match of gameweek 17 on Friday evening at Stade Abbé-Deschamps. Bruno Génésio's men will however be facing an Auxerre side that has been solid on home soil this season. Yet, after a stunning start to life in the top tier they have recently struggled in their last four outings in the league.

Christophe Pélissier's side managed to win their last three games in November in a row, but have struggled since losing to Toulouse in early December. They have since drawn twice and were knocked out of the Coupe de France by Ligue 2 BKT side Dunkerque before losing to Strasbourg (3-1) last weekend. Les Diplomates had initially taken the lead against the Alsatian side through Hamad Traoré, before Liam Rosenior's outfit made a comeback win against l'AJA.

"We're going to play the game with the ingredients we need to continue performing at home," pointed out Pélissier during his pre-match press conference. Of course, with his side's best performances coming at home this season, the Frenchman will be looking to get the best out of his side in front of the home support. Yet he's wary of the Lille threat.

"We're focused on the game. It's a match against a big team. I've seen Lille's games and they're about 70% in possession. We've seen their qualities. They're very good at pressing and counter-pressing. They have percussion players and the ability to combine. What's more, they have the best goalkeeper in France. Lille are living through their golden era, but a match is 90 minutes.”

Bruno Génésio's travelling Lille side are hoping to reach 19 games unbeaten, a record which hasn't been beaten or even reached for over four decades. Sat in fourth place, Les Dogues need to fend off pressure from Lyon and Nice behind them, whilst hoping to catch up with Monaco and Marseille just ahead of them in the table. They travel to the Burgundy region however with six absentees.

"We have Mitch' (Bakker) back from suspension. Matias (Fernandez-Pardo) is another absentee after suffering a serious ankle injury. He's got six weeks out, including three weeks with a brace at best," Génésio said at his pre-match press conference. Edon (Zhegrova) is on the right track, but is still confined to individual sessions. No surgery is planned for him and he should soon be back in the group."

Auxerre predicted lineup: De Percin; Diomande, Jubal, Akpa; Hoever, Owusu, Raveloson, Mensah; Perrin, Sinayoko, Traore.

Lille predicted lineup: Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Alexsandro, Gudmundsson; Andre, Andre Gomes, Mukau; Haraldsson, David, Cabella.

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