Auxerre host Le Mans at the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps on 25 October 2026 in a Ligue 1 Matchday 8 fixture between two mid table sides going in opposite directions. Auxerre sit 13th with nine points from seven matches whereas Le Mans are 16th with six, the home side having won three of their last five. Will Still arrived in June 2026 and has steadily tightened Auxerre's defensive shape in the months since, while Le Mans, still adjusting to their first season back in Ligue 1, have been particularly fragile on the road.
Still and Patrick Videira have never faced each other in a competitive fixture. Still replaced Christophe Pelissier on 12 June 2026 and has spent his early months installing a more defensively disciplined structure that has gradually lifted Auxerre's results, whereas Videira has been at Le Mans since 1 July 2024, his contract now running to 2029, building a side that tends to operate from a low block.
Auxerre's last five results are split cleanly by venue: they beat Le Havre 3-1 on 18 October, lost 1-4 at Rennes a week earlier, then beat Brest 2-1 and Nice 1-0 in early October before falling 1-3 to Lyon in late September. Three of those five games were at home and all three ended in wins, which is the more telling half of that record.
Le Mans have had a rougher stretch, losing 0-3 to Toulouse on 16 October and 1-3 to PSG around the 10th after drawing with Lens and Nice and beating Lorient in September. Two straight defeats since the international break, both without a clean sheet, leave Le Mans without a win in four road games this season.
Auxerre are short handed. Bryan Okoh and Assane Diousse are both out long term with knee ACL injuries, Rémy Labeau Lascary is missing for around a month with a quad problem and Clément Akpa is a doubt due to his knee, which is a heavy spread of absences across the back line and midfield that Still will need a disciplined collective performance to absorb. Le Mans have their own problems: Adil Bourabaa is out with an ankle injury, leaving them short of options in the middle of the park, while Harold Voyer is a doubt with a thigh issue that could force adjustments to Videira's back three.
Auxerre are likely to set up in a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2, with Cameron Archer leading the line as top scorer with around four goals. Danny Namaso has contributed three goals and several creative moments alongside him, with Romain Faivre operating from an advanced midfield role to complete the attack. The absences in defence mean the back line needs to hold its shape throughout but the familiar structure at home gives Still's side a platform to work from.
Le Mans tend to sit in a 3-5-2 or 3-1-4-2, relying on Louis Mafouta to hold play up on the break and set pieces to create their clearest chances. Without Bourabaa in midfield and potentially without Voyer at the back, they will struggle to pin Auxerre back for sustained periods. If Faivre and Namaso can operate in the half spaces and draw Le Mans' wing backs into midfield to expose the space behind them, Le Mans' route to goal narrows considerably, given that Mafouta is responsible for roughly half of what Videira's side have threatened all season.
The last competitive meeting between these clubs came in Ligue 2 in 2019, with the historical record favouring Auxerre. Le Mans do carry a set piece threat that is worth accounting for given Auxerre's defensive absences but Archer, Namaso and Faivre give the home side enough to work with across 90 minutes.
Auxerre 2-1 Le Mans. Archer's finishing and Namaso's combination play, combined with Still's improving defensive structure, give the home side the clearer path to three points. Mafouta can nick a goal on the counter, as he has done all season but without Bourabaa and potentially without Voyer, Le Mans are missing two of their key structural pieces and are unlikely to threaten Auxerre for more than isolated spells. Auxerre's home record and Le Mans' defensive disruption point to a narrow home win.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
