Last Hiccups Before Christmas

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Evian TG FC,

Matchday 18, Ligue 1

Finally a Champions League Knockout stages draw that spelt relief for Lyon. In their 9^th consecutive appearance in the Round-of-16, they meet APOEL FC; the Cypriot side that managed to finish ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg, FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group G. To lead a group after scoring just 6 goals while conceding 6, signals that APOEL has been doing the bare minimum to reach the knockout stage all this while. Lyon will fancy its chances of progressing to the Quarter Finals, in spite of all the Champions League uncertainty. February / March looks super exciting since these Round of 16 matches are in between a string of Ligue 1 matches against Marseille, Bordeaux, PSG, Lille and Saint-Etienne!

But coming back to the last Home game on this side of the Winter break, Lyon face Evian TG FC tonight; for the first ever meeting between the two sides in the league. The only other time the contest has taken place was in 2008 in a Coupe de France match. Lyon won 1-0 away that time.

“Sid” Returns To His Favourite Hunting Ground

All eyes before the game will be on return of Sidney Govou! The former Lyon veteran of 412 games had moved on to Panathinaikos in June 2010 after spending 12 years at Lyon. He helped Lyon win the famous 7 consecutive Ligue 1 titles in the last decade, even if it wasn’t always a smooth ride with the club and its fans. Following a so-so season in Greece, Govou returned to France, with the newly promoted team Evian for their debut season in the top flight. His reception at Stade Gerland is expected to be stellar!

If we win tonight, it will be the 4^th straight win in Ligue 1, following a terrible November. 14 goals have been scored by the team in the last four wins (all competitions), and Lisandro can be sure to be polishing his studs with extra cream for this match. Evian has conceded in all of last 11 games, and scored in all of the last 10. They are at 11^th spot in the league so far, though only 5 points separate them from the relegation zone. Govou has not yet scored for his new team this season, so Lyon should be on their toes as former players seem to know the pitch better than the current at times! Evian danger man could also be Cédric Barbosa, who’s starred in 9 of the last 16 goals for Evian (5 goals, 4 assists).

Who’s in the Lineups and Who’s a Michel Bastos?

Michel Bastos is expected to miss this game as well, given the back injury that’s been plaguing him. Lisandro, who didn’t start against Lorient, is likely to do so tonight. Vercoutre, Mensah, Pied are all injured and will continue to miss the show.

Possible Lineups

Lyon – Lloris – Réveillère, Cris, Lovren, Cissokho – Gonalons, Källström – Briand, Ederson, Lisandro – Gomis

Evian TG FC –  Andersen – Dja Djé Djé, Angoula, Cambon, Ehret – Govou, Poulsen, Sorlin, Barbosa – Khilfa, Sagbo

Allez Les Gones!

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Category: Ligue 1