Nicevs.Auxerre

The Ligue 1 side begin the competition keen to avoid an early exit against the in-form Ligue 2 side.

Match preview

Francesco Farioli's men begin their French Cup campaign with Auxerre visiting this weekend, seeking a place in the Round of 32.

Ligue 1 sides enter the competition in this round, and the Italian boss hopes his team avoid an early shock as they have not recorded cup triumph since 1996-97.

Despite their low-scoring nature under Farioli, the Eaglets have remained undefeated at the Allianz Riviera all season, claiming five straight victories and conceding just one goal in the last eight matches in front of their supporters.

Whether the Europe-chasing hosts sustain this in the cup is anyone's guess, but their approach theoretically should translate smoothly in knockout football.

After exiting at this stage last season to lowly Le Puy, Nice are in better shape to deal with Auxerre's threat on Saturday.

However, the Eaglets must be wary of the visiting side, whose winning run in all competitions stands at five, including a 4-1 victory over Sainz-Meziery in the eighth round.

The promotion-chasing Burgundy outfit have not tasted success in this competition since 2006, although they did reach the final in 2015 but suffered a marginal 1-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain.

Heading into Saturday's encounter, Christophe Pelissier's troops occupy the second automatic promotion spot in Ligue 2, undefeated in the competition since early November.

While topflight promotion is the club's ambition, a cup run plus ascent to Ligue 1 would gratify the club's supporters, but they must stun the title-chasing Nice to progress.

Pelissier's men are the top-scoring side in the second tier, and they hope their tendency to find the back of the net benefits them against the Eaglets' watertight rearguard.

Nice form (all competitions):

D

W

L

W

L

W

Auxerre form (all competitions):

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Team News

Youcef Atal, still suspended "until further notice" by Nice after his antisemitic Instagram post, has been included by Algeria for this month's Africa Cup of Nations finals; Hicham Boudaoui is also absent after his selection for the North African nation, while Jeremie Boga was picked for the Ivory Coast.

However, Terem Moffi could start in the attack after being omitted from Nigeria's final AFCON group.

Farioli is expected to be without Badredine Bouanani (ankle), Aliou Balde (knee), Khephren Thuram (knee) and Sofiane Diop (toe) for Saturday's tie.

Auxerre's front four is disrupted by Lassine Sinayoko's AFCON participation with Mali, even if Gaetan Perrin still provides a threat from the flanks, and Gauthier Hien should be deployed behind central striker Florian Aye.

The visitors are also forced into a change at left-back, with Ghana's Gideon Mensah away on international duty, and he is joined by fellow Black Star Elisha Owusu.

Nice possible starting lineup:

Bulka; Lotomba, Mendy, Dante, Bard; Sanson, Ndayishimiye, Rosario; Laborde, Moffi, Bouanani

Auxerre possible starting lineup:

Leon; Joly, Jubal, Pellenard, Akpa; Diousse, Ravelosun; Perrin, Hein, Maddy; Aye

We say: Nice 2-1 Auxerre

Farioli's team should avoid an early exit against the Ligue 2 contenders as Nice extend their undefeated run against Auxerre to five games.

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