Auxerre vs Lens predictions: Hotshot Openda can harm Auxerre's survival bid
- Auxerre have had eight 1-1 draws in the French top flight this season
- Lens have won 10 of their last 11 league games
- Recommended bet: Lois Openda to be first goalscorer at 9/2 with LiveScore Bet
Auxerre missed the chance to secure their Ligue 1 status when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Toulouse last weekend and they face a tense final game against second-placed Lens.
The home side need a win to make certain of playing in the top-flight next season and any slip-up could prove costly as Nantes, who host bottom club Angers, are just two points behind Auxerre with a superior goal difference.
Lens' faint hopes of pipping Paris Saint-Germain to the title were ended last weekend, but they continued their outstanding late-season form, thumping Ajaccio 3-0, and are unlikely to ease up on the final day.
Team News
Auxerre's only injury absentee is likely to be Ghana midfielder Elisha Owusu, although striker M'Baye Niang is expected to miss out for disciplinary reasons, with Nuno Da Costa starting up front instead.
Lens will welcome back Poland international Przemyslaw Frankowski after suspension and he should start on the right-hand side of midfield. Steven Fortes, Jimmy Cabot and Wuilker Farinez are all sidelined with knee injuries.
The stats
Both teams have scored in six of Auxerre's last seven matches and AJA have had eight 1-1 draws in the French top-flight this season.
Auxerre have scored the first goal in three of their last five games but not won any of them.
Seven of Lens' nine away matches against bottom-half teams have ended in draws, while Les Sang et Or have won 10 of their last 11 league games.
Nine of Lens' last 11 Ligue 1 matches had over 2.5 goals.
Prediction
Lens are guaranteed to finish second in Ligue 1 whatever the result of their final match while Auxerre are desperate for a win that would keep them in the division at the expense of Nantes.
The home side's motivation means they are much shorter in the betting than they would usually be against visitors who have won 10 of their last 11 league games, scoring at least twice in eight of those victories.
Lens have one of the hottest strikers in Ligue 1 in Belgian youngster Lois Openda and he is a tempting bet to be the first goalscorer on Saturday.
Openda scored in last weekend's win over Ajaccio, taking his tally for the season to 20 goals in just 28 Ligue 1 starts.
He is finishing the season in red-hot form, having scored 11 times in his last 11 appearances, including a hat-trick against Clermont and braces against Angers and Monaco, while he also racked up eight shots in April's defeat to champions PSG.
