In the match of the 12th round of the French championship, Angers will play at home against Auxerre. This is an important encounter in terms of the relegation battle, in which both opponents are involved along with a large group of competitors. Angers is at the top of a tightly packed group, sharing 13th and 14th places with Brest. Nantes and Lorient trail them by one point, Metz by two, and Auxerre, which occupies the last place in the league table, by three. This means that immediately six teams in the lower part of Ligue 1 are within three points of each other. It’s a very intense battle.

Currently, Auxerre appears to be the underdog, but in terms of resources, it is not the weakest representative at the bottom of the table. There are other teams that are more inconsistent in terms of gameplay and squad, but in recent rounds, Auxerre has been much less fortunate: they have only managed to earn one point in the last six rounds. In the three previous matches, they suffered defeats to Marseille (0:1), Strasbourg (0:3), and Le Havre (0:1). Before that, they managed a draw with Rennes (2:2). To avoid falling behind their neighbours, Auxerre needs to start accumulating points, especially in a clash with a direct competitor.

Angers has looked slightly better recently, but their results also leave much to be desired. In the last round, they lost to Lille (0:1), before that there was a draw with Marseille (2:2), a victory over Lorient (2:0), and a draw with Monaco (1:1). This means Angers can put up resistance against strong opponents and looks convincing in their encounters with table neighbours. Last season, Angers and Auxerre exchanged home victories. Angers won 2:0, while Auxerre won 1:0.