A pivotal relegation six-pointer takes place in Ligue 1 on Sunday afternoon, as Ajaccio welcome fellow demotion dog-fighters Auxerre to the Stade Francois Coty.

Olivier Pantaloni's side were put to the sword 2-1 by Clermont last weekend, while their visitors' survival hopes were boosted with a 1-0 triumph over Troyes.

Match preview

A defensive error from Clermont allowed Ajaccio to break the deadlock during last Sunday's clash at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied, but Pantaloni was left to rue two even costlier mistakes from his own rearguard during a heartbreaking late defeat.

Mounaim El Idrissy caught the Clermont backline unawares in the 25th minute to prod home, but a pair of second-half penalties from Grejohn Kyei - the latter of which came in the third minute of second-half injury time - turned the game on its head in dramatic circumstances.

A red card for Mohamed Youssouf just 16 minutes after his introduction hardly helped matters for L'ours, who suffered their fourth Ligue 1 loss on the bounce last weekend and are still staring down the barrel of an immediate relegation back down to Ligue 2.

Only crisis club Angers have performed worse than Ajaccio, who occupy 19th place in the table with 21 points to show from their 29 matches, and they are five adrift of the safety of 16th spot, which is currently occupied by Strasbourg.

Holding the unfortunate label of being the least effective attacking team in the league with 21 goals scored in the entire season, Pantaloni's men are the only outfit in Ligue 1 yet to hit double-figures at home - netting just nine times in front of their own fans and failing to score in five of their last six at the Stade Francois Coty.

The conditions at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps may have been horrible, but there was no raining on the Auxerre parade during the visit of Troyes, as AJA offered their supporters a little more hope of Ligue 1 survival courtesy of a narrow one-goal triumph.

Substitute M'Baye Niang was the hero of the hour, firing home from Nuno Da Costa's pass just seven minutes after being introduced to put Troyes to the sword and end a three-game winless run for Christophe Pelissier's men stretching back to February.

Since becoming victims of a Coupe de France upset at the hands of Rodez, Auxerre have been a force to be reckoned with in the top flight, losing just one of their last seven in the division and getting the better of top-half sides Lyon and Lorient in that timeframe.

However, AJA's fate is still out of their own hands as they remain in the four-team relegation zone - although Strasbourg are only keeping them at bay courtesy of their superior goal difference - and the time is nigh for Auxerre to claim just their third Ligue 1 away win of the season.

Following a trio of successive goalless draws between Ajaccio and Auxerre, this week's visitors edged October's clash at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps 1-0, extending their unbeaten run over Pantaloni's side to seven games since a 2-1 loss in February 2019.

Team News

Ajaccio right-back Youssouf has been slapped with a three-match ban for his red card-worthy challenge on Clermont's Maxime Gonalons, and he is joined on the naughty step by Cyrille Bayala, who will serve the second of a two-game suspension for his sending off against Monaco before the international break.

On a more positive disciplinary note, both of Ismael Diallo and Oumar Gonzalez have served one-game bans for an accumulation of yellow cards, and the defensive duo could immediately be recalled over Fernand Mayembo and Youssouf Kone.

Romain Hamouma (muscle) and Vincent Marchetti (hamstring) will both miss out again, while the curious case of Youcef Belaili has now come to an end, as the attacker is back in France after an extended stay in Algeria to recuperate from an adductor injury.

In contrast, Auxerre have had few suspension headaches to worry about recently, but Pelissier lost left wing-back Gideon Mensah to a knee injury within 26 minutes against Troyes before Isaak Toure was forced off in the dying embers with a muscular concern.

It is unclear how severe the pair's issues are at present, but Julian Jeanvier and Gaetan Perrin are on standby to cover, with the latter potentially being thrust back onto the left flank.

ACL victim Theo Pellenard and Elisha Owusu (Achilles) also take up spots in the AJA infirmary, while Niang may have played his way into a start over Siriki Dembele or Matthis Abline.

Ajaccio possible starting lineup:
Leroy; Alphonse, Vidal, Gonzalez, Diallo; Nouri, Coutadeur, Barreto, Spadanuda; El Idrissy, Touzghar

Auxerre possible starting lineup:
Radu; Raveloson, Jubal, Jeanvier; Zedadka, B. Toure, Massengo, Perrin; Hein, Da Costa; Niang

We say: Ajaccio 0-1 Auxerre

Even with a couple of injuries rearing their ugly heads for the Auxerre defence, a shot-shy Ajaccio side who have struggled for goals at home all season should experience little joy against Pelissier's backline.

Low-scoring encounters have been the theme for these two sides in recent memory, and there is nothing to suggest that this contest will not follow a similar pattern, but an increasingly resilient Auxerre side can nick a solitary goal to potentially jump out of the bottom four and deepen Ajaccio's relegation fears.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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