Feignies-Aulnoye will welcome top-flight opponents Lyon to Stade du Hainaut for a round of 64 clash in the Coupe de France on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts earned their spot in this round with back-to-back victories over Raismes and Gallia Lucciana, and are yet to concede a goal in the competition.
Match preview
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Feignies-Aulnoye are set to feature in their sixth Coupe de France campaign and fourth in succession, but they have only gone beyond this round of the competition on one occasion.
That came last season when they defeated Quevilly-Rouen Metropole to set up a sixth-round tie against Montpellier, though they were outplayed in that match and ended up losing 4-0 at this venue.
EFAFC also faced Paris Saint-Germain in the 2017-18 season and lost the match 3-0, but they have claimed one fairly big scalp in the past, in the form of Ligue 2 side Amiens, who they beat on penalties in November 2021.
Jean Antunes's side lost their last match 2-1 in the National 2 campaign to Beauvais, but they have been in decent form of late, losing only two of their last 10 matches, while notching up five wins and two draws in that period.
The hosts have also been excellent at Stade du Hainaut, still unbeaten after seven matches across all competitions this season, scoring 16 goals while only conceding six in that time.
Meanwhile, Lyon will set off on their journey to try and go one better than last season when they were beaten by Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the final of this competition.
Les Gones have fared very well in the Coupe in recent seasons, reaching the quarter-final stage in each of the last six campaigns, while going beyond that point four times during that period.
Pierre Sage's side enjoyed an impressive run-in to the festive break, putting together a nine-match unbeaten streak across all competitions from the end of October, before suffering a 3-1 away loss to Les Parisiens last weekend.
Lyon have been performing exceptionally in Europe this term, currently in fourth place, notching up 13 points in six League Phase games, now just three points off current leaders Lazio.
That loss to PSG was also the only one the visitors have suffered on the road since matchday one of the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season, and they will be keen to sign off the year with a solid performance in this one.
Team News
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Malick Sambou and Souleymane Diarra both scored twice in the victory over Raismes in their opening match of this competition, and the pair are also joint-top-scorers for the side this season with six goals apiece.
Adam Abeddou has been an ever-present since arriving from RC Lens B in the summer, and he will likely partner Allassane Ouattara in the engine room with Maxence Lescroart operating as the holding midfielder.
While Lyon are likely to ring the changes for this match, Sage does have a fully fit squad at his disposal, though Nicolas Tagliafico will not make the trip to Valenciennes owing to suspension.
Said Benrahma will likely be given a start here to help work his way back to full fitness, having featured on the bench for the last two matches following a spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury.
Feignies-Aulnoye possible starting lineup:
Plumain; Wackers, Nahounou, Lescroart, N'Doye; Chah, Diarra, De Parmentier; Koubemba, Abeddou, Sambou
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Descamps; Kumbedi, Omari, Caleta-Car; Mata; Diawara, Veretout, Molebe; Benrahma, Mikautadze, Nuamah
We say: Feignies-Aulnoye 1-4 Lyon
After a very slow start to the season when they managed just one win from their first five games, Lyon found top gear at the start of October and have only conceded two defeats in 15 matches since. We feel Les Gones will get through to the next round fairly comfortably.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
