In the match of the tenth round of the French championship, Strasbourg will host Auxerre at home. The hosts are rightly seen as the favourites in this matchup. They are in the race for leadership and a place in the Champions League, while the visitors are battling for survival. After nine rounds, Strasbourg has 16 points, ahead of Nice by just two points. However, what’s more interesting is the high density of teams above them. Strasbourg is only three points away from second place and four points from first. PSG have taken the lead, followed by Lens, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, and Monaco. With a favourable turn of events, Strasbourg could leap to second place in one go.

Auxerre does not look doomed either. They are five points ahead of Metz, who are clearly lagging behind all competitors. But above Auxerre is a very tight group of teams. They are just three points away from 11th place, where Paris is situated, and there are a host of teams between them, with four clubs being just two points ahead. So, the current standings in both cases tell us little.

What is much more concerning is the fact that Auxerre has not won for four rounds and has only managed to gather one point during this period, drawing with Rennes (2:2). They have also suffered defeats to PSG (0:2), Lens (1:2), and Le Havre (0:1). Strasbourg plays more variably. In the previous round, they lost in the final seconds to Lyon (1:2), previously drew with PSG (3:3), and thrashed Angers (5:0). It seems that Strasbourg should not face any problems with Auxerre.