Saint-Etienne – Auxerre

Saint-Etienne and Auxerre will decide who will play in Ligue 1 next season.

Saint-Etienne and Auxerre will meet in the decisive match for the right to play in Ligue 1 next season. The first game between the two sides was played on the Ligue 2 side and ended in a 1-1 draw. The Greens opened the scoring, with Auxerre netting the equaliser in the final minutes. The game itself was fairly even, both teams created more than one goal chances, so they didn't reveal their full potential. And obviously, they took into account that there was still a return leg. But in the upcoming game, there is no point for them to be cautious and save energy: the fate of both clubs is at stake for the next year, and even years. This sets the stage for more open football, as both teams have a good selection of performers in attack, but are not very reliable in defence. Especially when Saint-Etienne play at home and Auxerre play away. The Greens have scored in their last nine games at home, which is every game in 2022. And often not even a single goal. But Saint-Etienne have consistently conceded in eight of those nine games. And quite a lot too. The fact that the two teams have spent the season in different leagues and cannot assess the level of threat posed by their attacking players well will complicate the preparation of the two teams' defence against each other. Auxerre have conceded away goals in their last six games. They have conceded just one goal each time. On the other hand, they have scored far more in their last eight games in a row. Moreover, Auxerre have a winless away winning streak of ten matches. Auxerre last lost away in December 2021 in the French Cup to Lille, representing Ligue 1, with the score 1:3. Incidentally, the last time Saint-Etienne and Auxerre met in the French Cup was in 2017. That was in 2017, at which time Auxerre defeated the Greens 3-0. And Auxerre have not been in Ligue 1 for exactly ten years. It could have guaranteed a direct place in the top division without those knockout stages, but it lost in Ligue 2 by just one point to second-placed Ajaccio.