PSG vs Auxerre Predictions

• PSG have won five of their last six games in all competitions, keeping four clean sheets along the way
• PSG have been averaging 2.00 goals per game in Ligue 1 so far this season.
• Auxerre haven’t won a fixture against PSG since 2011.

Modest victory likely for a shuffled PSG XI

Luis Enrique chose to wrap some of his star players in cotton wool when PSG last played a Ligue 1 match directly before a Champions League fixture. The Parisians ground out a mechanical 2-0 win over Lens on that occasion and a similar performance could follow against Auxerre on Saturday.

With one eye on next week’s showpiece showdown with Barcelona, Enrique could hand rare starts to the likes of Warren Zaire-Emery, Lee Kang-In, Lucas Hernandez and Goncalo Ramos, which could mess with PSG’s usual chemistry.

PSG will be eager to bounce back from Monday’s surprise 1-0 loss at Marseille, though it could be hard to find fluency with a changed XI, especially against an Auxerre defence that isn’t easily breached, so combining a home win with under 4.5 goals could be the way to go here.

The visitors have shipped only six goals in five league games since the summer, while three of their first five Ligue 1 contests of the new campaign have featured under 2.5 goals.

Auxerre manager Christophe Pélissier likes to set his team up with a deep five-man defensive block and that unit is well-drilled enough to make life awkward for PSG, especially if the hosts rest key forwards.

The visitor’s keeper, Donovan Léon, is also in good form and was named Man of the Match in his team’s 1-0 win over Toulouse last time out, so don’t be surprised if Auxerre keep the score down in the capital.

Leaning on the same logic, a 2-0 win, matching the score from PSG’s last pre-Champions League fixture, is our correct score forecast.