Saturday, OL head to the foot of the French Alps and look to kick their season back into gear after the international break, and an exhausting battle vs. Marseille, that just barely kept those marauding bandits from stealing three points at Gerland. Aside from all the “match-of-the-season/ all-time-classics of L1″ talk, I only take only a few postitives from the last match: one, at least we didn’t lose and lose even more ground in the race for first. Two, that inspite of allowing five goals, our goal differential stayed the same. And three, that our offensive output showed what it’s really capable of and that we again, showed that gritty, fighting spirit that has allowed us to claw our way back into, and indeed win games, something that was so painfully absent last season. So now Lyon, after recieving a reprieve in their draw with L’OM- luckily Bordeaux went down against Lille in week 13- and failing to fully capitalize by gaining just one point instead of three, look to try to close the one point gap between themselves and the league leaders in Blanc’s boys.

On the face of it, this game looks- for all intensive purposes- to be a potential whopper of a snoozer. To call this a derby is an insult to derbies. Not only because of the fact that Grenoble are winless this season, but also due to the fact that OL have been stinking-up the league with their domestic form lately- five goals against Marseille aside. But Lyon have looked anemic this season when they come off a CL match or the international break, and also seem to be having trouble as of late with these sorry teams that they should be dispatching with ease. I think all this creates a recipe for a very boring match indeed. We shall see.

Grenoble’s Form: What really can be said about the poor guys? The league should really have mercy on them and think about cancelling the rest of their matches because they are bleeding, down to their last drops really, and someone should really have the heart to euthanise them.

They sit at the bottom of the table with a 0-1-11 record. They were on an eleven game losing streak, before they managed to sneak a 0-0 draw against Monaco right before the break, and pick-up their first point of the season.

They are a shambles in every sense of the word: their offense is the worst in the league with (5) scored- that’s Bafetimbi Gomis’s season total alone. Their defense is also the worst in the league with a whopping (23) allowed. And needless to say, worst home and away record also goes to them; they are winless at home.

History: The two teams have only met four times, and OL has won all but one match in 1960 which ended in a draw. Last season, when Grenoble was obviously a much better squad and OL a worse one, Lyon took both matches, with a 2-0 final score in both.

Injuries: Cleber, Reveillere, Gonalons,and Toulalan who still hasn’t recovered from his groin injury he picked-up vs. Marseille, so look to Boumsong to be slipping back into his old slot- Thank God this first game back after his nearly season-long layoff will be against Grenoble! Kallstrom had a touch of the flu midweek, but looks ready to go. Aly Cissokho is suspended.

Le groupe lyonnais : Lloris, Vercoutre- Cris, Boumsong, Clerc, Gassama, Kolodziejczak, Seguin; Makoun, Källström, Pjanic, Grenier, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson, Govou, Gomis, Lisandro.

Formation:

Lloris
Clerc-Cris-Boumsong-Bastos
Pjanic-Makoun-Kallstrom
Govou-Gomis-Lisandro

Prediction: As I said in the opening paragraph, Lyon are generally lethargic after layoffs, and I don’t expect this to be any different, and especially with an probable eye trained towards the Fiorentina match. Although Grenoble are a team worthy of genuine pity, this is exactly the type of team that has given OL headaches as of late: those that seemingly should be put away easily. That coupled with the possibility that Grenoble may have been inspired to build on their momentum, post-Monaco, and who knows. The long lay-off and distraction of Fiorentina are a potential recipe for disaster. I expect a phlematic OL offense to struggle to get into gear, but the weakness of the opposing side’s defense and the utter impotence of their offense- they only have two players who have scored all season- make it difficult to see Lyon not pulling-off the victory in the end; A 1-0 Lyon win. Let’s pray.

P.S. I should be in Lyon for the Rennes match next Sunday. If any of you readers are in Lyon and/or going to be at the match, let me know. I would appreciate some info on buying tickets and other stuff, as well a meeting-up with you.

Goals: Lyon (Pjanic 3, Govou 14, Lisandro 80, Lisandro pen 83, Bastos 90); Marseille (Diawara 11, Cheyrou 43, Kone 47, Brandao 79, Toulalan og 92)
Sanctions: Lyon (Makoun 20, Cris 54, Lisandro 86); Marseille (Niang 74, Diawara 87)

No words can adequately describe what will for sure end up being the match of the year. Both OL and OM will rue giving away stupid goals (Gabriel Heinze gave away a penalty while Jeremy Toulalan scored an own goal). If you want to read a really good recap, you can read the official version from the LFP. But I really recommend you download the match itself and watch it from start to finish (not a single boring moment, I promise you that!). For download links, see the last comment on this post. To tide you over until then, there are some extended highlights after the jump (I was also going to post photos, but the OL website has a great selection of them, so head over there and check it out).

P.S.: Toulalan must be so traumatized. After all his desperation to score a goal, when he finally does, it’s an own goal in stoppage time that snatches a much needed victory from Lyon. But that’s okay because I – and I’m sure the rest of you do too – love him anyway. *squishes Jeremy*

Sunday evening it’s back to work. But hopefully, it’s not one of those usual Monday morning, sloping, sluggish, I need a liter of coffee to get through the day, back to works, because aside from the heart wrenching matches against Cesspool in the CL, Lyon have been afflicted with a general malaise probably since week eight in the PSG match, and need this victory to put some pep back in their step.

Lyon have had a near perfect run in the CL so far, but our league form as of late, leaves alot to be desired. Aside from some bright spots in victories against Toulouse and Lens, OL have been downright somnambulant, pretty much in their last three league matches if not more, seemingly sleepwalking through the league and waking up with some nasty injuries along the way- Sochaux and Nice in particular, inflicting some deep bruises.

No hand-holding this week: That led to a 0-0 draw last time!

Sunday, Marseille come to Gerland, fresh off their midweek 6-1 trouncing of FC Zurich in the CL. Despite this sucess, they are pretty much done in the CL, needing two sucessive vitories against two giants of the football world, Real Madrid and AC Milan, in order to progress to the round of sixteen. So in other words, their attention should be fully turned back to and honed on league success.

For me, this is the team that OL can’t lose to. I don’t care so much about the Derby or Bordeaux, but L’OM can’t be allowed a victory. I think it’s Ben Arfa that’s caused a viceral hatred in me for L’OM…I dunno.

Regardless, both teams have been rather flat in league play lately, and this match may be pivotal in the sense that it may jolt one of them back on track: Lyon are just two points off of league-leaders Bordeaux, while Marseille are seven points off the lead, and look to keep from slipping any further in the table.

HISTORY: Sunday’s clash at Gerland will be the 39th affair between the two clubs. In those meetings, OL holds the advantage with a 16-17-6 record. Apart from Les Marseillais’ last victories in November of 2007 and April of 2004, you would have to go back twelve years to find the last OM victory. Aside from a few exeptions, the matches between these two are generally low scoring affairs and decided by a point or less.

Marseille’s Form: After a summer filled with big signings of talented players- which assured them tons of depth at every position- and the acquisition of coach Didier Deschamps, L’OM had put fear into most of the top teams in L1, but halfway through the season, Marseille suprisingly sit in eight place in the tables. They are 5-3-2 with (19) points, that’s eight from the top, but do have a one point goal differential lead on OL with (+7). Their anihilation of Zurich aside, L’OM have been had a similar run to OL, with two wins in their last five matches.

Les Phoceens have the fourth ranked offense with (17) scored- tied with Lyon- and are also ranked fourth in defense with (10) goals allowed. For today’s purposes, OM are ranked 3rd away from home- right behind L’OL- with a 3-1-1 record on the road. Lyon are ranked 5th at home with a 4-0-1 record.

Offensively, Mamadou Niang (6) and Brandão with (4) league goals are their danger men.

Again, despite a slew of summer signings, L’OM’s achilles heal continues to be the defensive line. The front of goal seems to be an open highway to opposing teams as of late, as Deschamps struggles to find the right defensive combination. Seven of the last ten goals allowed have come in the last five matches.

Injuries: Cleber and Bodmer; while Clerc and Reveillere are out with knee injuires, leaving the toddler Lamine Gassama to possibly be molested by that bad man Mamadou Niang, probably a repeat-in-the-waiting of what happened to the poor boy in the CL, when he was mauled by Franck Ribery.

The other kiddies, Faure and Seguin are still out, leaving Toulalan to play through his groin injury.

Some great news: Boumsong is finally fit, and will join the squad. This is fantastic news, although he’s weeks away from getting-up to speed, because I was starting to worry that Puel might have to start putting Makoun, Kallstrom or some of the fowards in the CB role during practice. It looked like it might be coming to that; maybe Lisandro back there before they decided to buy a CB on the medical joker option, or switching to a 3-5-2.

As aformentioned, Toulalan is a having some slight groin problems but will start. Gomis sustained a slight knock during the week against Loserpool and is questionable but still in the squad, same goes for Pjanic who also took a knock vs. Cesspool and experienced some muscular soreness during the week, but is also included in the group.

Le groupe lyonnais : Lloris, Vercoutre, Cris, Gassama, Cissokho, Boumsong, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan, Gonalons, Makoun, Källström, Pjanic, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson, Govou, Tafer, Belfodil, Gomis, Lisandro.

Formation:

Lloris
Gassama-Cris -Toulalan-Cissokho
Ederson-Makoun-Kallstrom
Bastos-Lisandro-Govou

P.S. Please post your links as soon as you find a good one.

Just some random odds and ends for you to read as you bide your time waiting for Lyon’s Champions League clash with Liverpool.

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<— Sid’s Serious Captain-y Face.

If you’re wondering why the captain’s armband showed up on Cris last Saturday, despite Sidney Govou also being on the pitch, it’s because our dear (former?) captain was seen drunk in public only two nights before the derby. He was at the Grand Prix de tennis de Lyon (part of the ATP World Tour, for you tennis junkies) with Remy Vercoutre, Florent Laville, and Sylvain Wiltord, another ex-Lyon bad boy. Sadly, pictures of a wasted Govou have yet to circulate on the internet (damn French media – in England they have no scruples about this sort of thing), but video tapes have made their way to Claude Puel’s desk.

Puel wasn’t very happy and took away Govou’s armband, though no word yet on whether this is a permanent change. Puel was pragmatic enough to realize that captain or not, Govou was needed on the pitch, which is why he was in the starting XI against St. Etienne. For Puel, it seems the matter is closed, but Jean-Mimi naturally had more to say. While he did say that Govou is willing to make amends, Aulas also called his leadership abilities into question and said that he’d consider Govou’s punishment carefully. Aulas met with him on Sunday to discuss the situation with him.

I guess this probably seems like an overreaction from Lyon, but given Govou’s hard partying history – and don’t forget that he was arrested for drunk driving less than a year ago – it’s no surprise that the club is so concerned.

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Just for lulz.

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I was going to write about the latest blow to French football’s eternal quest for equality on the global markets, but since Xavier of the Lens Offside has already done such an excellent job in telling us why getting rid of the DIC is really bad news for Ligue 1, I figure, why reinvent the wheel?

Aulas is desperately sounding the alarm. According to him, this change will mean that Lyon lose an extra €6m a year. It doesn’t seem like a lot, at least on the surface, but keep in mind that France already has really strict rules on club finances. Aulas fears that he may not be able to offer extensions to Sidney Govou, Francois Clerc, and other players nearing the ends of their contracts.

Also, here is a great interview (in English!) of Jean-mimi on UEFA.com.

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Kader Keita is the latest ex-OL player to accuse the club of mistreating him. Honestly, all these disgruntled former players make Lyon sound like an abusive ex-husband. Should I be more disturbed?

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I have so much love for these two. Bafe and Lisandro are this, but without the ~dramah~.

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The two latest recruits at Lyon are Norwegian pair Christine Colombo Nilsen and Isabell Hervolsen Both women left Kolbotn for OL Féminines, though their transfer fee remains undisclosed. They were signed just in time for them to be eligible for the club’s CL match against Fortuna Hjørring. Along with Arsenal and Bayern Munich, Lyon are one of three clubs that are still represented in both the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League. Let’s hope that one of them actually win the damn trophy this time.

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The spot for a third blogger on the Lyon Offside still remains open. John and I post when we can, but I know many of you would prefer more frequent updates. If you think you can post at least once a week, have decent grammar, and are such a diehard fan that you want to share your love of OL with the rest of the world, please read this post.

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Phrase of the day week month: “The unstoppable groin-pocalypse going on at Lyon….What in the name of Cleber’s crotch is going on here?” Found on Dirty Tackle.

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Most of the major roadblocks in the development of OL Land have been removed, as 74% of the population of Greater Lyon are in favor of the new stadium. The biggest obstacle has had to do with the construction of more public transportation to the Decines area, or more accurately, the funding of that new transportation. Right now, there is one dinky tram line that goes out there, which is not enough to support the amount of people expected to utilize public transportation to get to the games (which is estimated at 65%). Some citizens don’t want the city to take on the added burden of these costs (OL wouldn’t be paying for it as it’s the city’s expense), though others argue that the area has long been in need of new train lines regardless, and that the increased revenue to the businesses in the area would make up for the expenses.

In any case, Aulas expects the final plans to be approved this spring, and that applications for the building permits will be completed by fall next year. The expected date of the new stadium is December 8th, 2013.

Lyon have also launched a new website that will keep everyone up to date with the latest news and pictures of the stadium. The site is chock full of interesting stuff, like details about the stadium’s eco-friendly design, the transportation and traffic surveys, a map showing all the sites of interest, and information on how the stadium will be funded (€450m from OL and its private partners and an additional €180m from public funds for transportation purposes).

The architectural firm chosen by Aulas is Populous (formerly HOK Architecture). They have a lot of impressive projects to their name, so we can expect good things from them.

And of course, the photos. I don’t think I’ve posted these pictures before. If you want to see the other pics I’ve posted of the new stadium, just click of the “OL Land/New Stadium” category on the right.

(click to enlarge)

Saturday, OL make their descent into Le Chaudron – and you can believe it will be hot- aka Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to kick-off the only derby that really matters. No matter what form Grenoble are in- and they are atrocious this year- this is the only derby that counts- just keepin it real. Sorry Grenoble fans. In fact, Lyon-St. Etienne is one of the most traditional affairs in the league, and it is one of the three most anticipated matches in L1, the only other traditional matches that are as highly anticipated and intensity-filled being Lille-Lens and the Clasico.

Both squads will be looking for points: OL to try to gain ground on second place Monaco, and first place Bordeaux, and St. Etienne to put some room between them and the drop. Although both of the teams come into the match trying to rebound from recent lows in the form of mini-losing streaks, injury worries which are also a concern and Lyon has the added distraction of having an eye trained on the upcoming Liverpool later in midweek. All that really may matter little in a competion of this magnitude. In fact, if it weren’t that this is an emotional clash for both teams and the fact that both teams have other tangible motivations for a victory, then I’d actually be a little frightened due to OL’s recent bipolar displays in the league matches straddling the last Liverpool game. The fact that Le Verts have alot to play for, coupled with the fact that most teams get fired-up when they get a chance to kick OL in the shins, makes for a bad recipe, but I think this emotionally charged match is just what the doctor ordered in term’s of lifting Lyon’s spirits and injecting them with desire to get back to winning after post-Anfield hangover.

History: This will be the 98th meeting between the two clubs. Lyon haven’t lost since ‘94 and since then, it’s been a series of relatively tight matches. Lyon are 8-12-23 against ASSE. Six of the last nine matches have ended in draws, with an average of one goal deciding the victories, all won by OL of course. The last “blowout” would be St. Etienne’s last victory in ‘94 that ended 3-0.

Out for Blood: The derby in and of itself is an occasion that normaly infuses all players and staff on both sides, with ex-Lyon and ex-St. Etienne players on either side of the ball. This year promises to be no different, with several players and staff who have special stakes vested in the match.

Saturday’s match will be the second derby for ex-Lyon coach Alain Perrin, having lost his first outing at the end of last season 1-0 at home. So rest assured he will be looking to even-up his record.

Even newcomer Michel Bastos has some bad blood between he and St. Etienne full back Jeremy Varault, that stems from his days at Lille.

Jeremy Janot and his rabid anti-Lyon antics are well known, but perhaps the most intruiging situation in this derby will obviously be Bafetimbi Gomis returning to face his former team for the first time, and in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, now enemy territory, no less. Bafe had a down season last year, and one that saw the Stefanois faithful turn on him to some degree. Gomis will certainly feel the full wrath of the fans come down on him in the form of boos and jeering after having run out of town and into the arms of their much hated rival no less. Bafe’s ubiquitous kissing of the OL insignia and making the “OL” signs with his fingers after scoring goals this season, a show of loyalty to his new club, surely has not gone unnoticed nor needless to say gone over well with the St. Etienne faithful. Hopefully, La Panthere will pull a “Loic Remy” and wreak havoc on his former team.

Don’t forget to check-out the St. Etienne blog that’s up and running now. Check out Benj’s preview.

St. Etienne’s Form: Les Stephanois are currently going through a two match losing streak, having dropped two of their last six. They are sitting slightly above the precipice of the drop in 16th place with a 3-1-6 record. They are 16th at home with just (2) two wins. Their defense is 13th with (14) goals allowed and their offense is 17th with (9) scored.

Offensively, their leading goal scorer is Argentine striker Gonazalo Bergessio with (3) three. Their other four goals are spread out amoungst four other players with one a piece.

They began the season with a three game losing streak, falling to Nice, Toulouse, and Boulougne- which happend to be in form. Aside from maybe two losses, they’ve lost to respectable teams and/or to teams that were in form at the time, and usually by very slim margins.

They’ve taken down Monaco and Bordeaux- a match which I watched, and “dismantled” is a more apt word to describe what they did to Les Girondins- amoungst their exploits in the win column.

Les Verts are going through a mini-injury disaster of their own, that probably has led to their dropping some points recently. Oft Lyon transfer target Mouhamadou Dabo is out, as is Moustapha Bayal Sall, as well as ex-OL defender Sylvain Monsoreau, Boubacar Sanogo and team captain Loic Perrin.

Injuries: Cleber, Boumsong, Bodmer, Seguin, Faure, and to add to the list of the plague of adductor injuries this week is Cissokho, who is a maybe. Delgado and Lisandro missed training on Thursday and have been training lightly around their adductor injuries, but are good-to-go. Kallstrom is back from his muscle problem and in an early Christmas gift, Lloris is back to send the opposition’s 12th man, Remy Vercoutre, back to the bench.

Le groupe lyonnais : Lloris, Vercoutre; Cris, Réveillère, Clerc, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan, Gonalons, Makoun, Källström, Pjanic, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson, Govou, Tafer, Gomis, Lisandro.

Starting Formation: Who knows. Puel mostly defies logic with his selections, but here’s my newest best guess: Lisandro played the whole match last week as did Govou and Pjanic. I’m guessing Lilo comes off the bench while Govou and Pjanic start. I thought Reveillere might be rested last week, but with Cissokho being injured, and Puel possibly not risking Aly before the Liverpool match, we could see either AR, Bastos, or maybe even Kallstrom at LB.

Lloris
Clerc-Cris -Toulalan-Revelliere
Gonalons-Makoun
Bastos-Pjanic-Govou
Gomis

The entire match condensed into a single photo.

Ugh. Not only did Lyon lose to Nice for the first time since 1995, but they also conceded four goals in the league for the first time in four years. I suppose L’Equipe has it right in calling Lyon a team with two faces. One day, they’re world beaters, and the next, they’re a scuffed doormat.

Okay, maybe that’s just me being my typically overly dramatic self. Still, it’s not easy to watch your beloved team concede four goals to a club barely hanging on in the relegation zone, especially when two of those goals were blatantly given away for free by Lyon. Not that I’m detracting anything from Nice – they did their homework, knew what to expect from a team tired from the Champions League, and pushed exactly the right buttons (actually, they didn’t have to do much pushing – Lyon were happy to help). Plus, unlike a few seasons ago, when other L1 teams would piss their pants before facing OL, nowadays the fashion is for small clubs to claim Lyon’s scalp, which seems to occur on a semi-regular basis. Teams like Nice will struggle against other smaller teams but play the match of the season against us.

Oh, the unfairness of it all.

/well, not really. Aren’t I always saying how L1 is stronger than it looks from outside? So I ought not complain when I’m proven right.

Remy, thou hast slayed me.

In terms of a match review…not much to review except the general hilarity of it all. I mean, you know it’s just not a good day when L’Equipe’s average rating of our players is a 3.4 out of 10. In the comments of John’s match thread, some of us were discussing why some fans don’t like Remy Vercoutre. Well, let’s just say that he hasn’t won himself any points. Also, I think this was the first match that Aly Cissokho disappointed in, at least to this degree. Man, he was getting ripped to shreds. In fact, I’d say he was getting the same treatment that Sidney Govou gave to Emiliano Inshua against Liverpool. Totally brutal. We might even need an “R” rating.

The other OL players were pretty transparent. They might have had one or two good moves in them, but they were too busy catching their breath to play much football. Substitutes Cesar Delgado and Ederson combined to score the lone OL goal. In fact, the only good Lyon players were the ex-Lyon players. Loic Remy, Anthony Mounier, and David Hellebuyck (remember him?) all had amazing games. I would weep at that, but I used up all my tears on Vercoutre.

But in all honesty, to echo my imaginary boyfriend, it’s not the end of the world. Lyon are still very much in the title race, albeit in 3rd place (possibly 4th after tomorrow). And as agonizing as today’s game was, no one out there is taking it as a reflection of our squad’s quality. No team can be great 100% of the time, and Lyon are just as prone to off days as any one else. Plus, ask anyone, and they’d gladly admit that they’d prefer to lose the six points surrounding the Liverpool match rather than the Liverpool match itself. I’m sure by next week, after the players have gotten some much needed rest, healing, and impromptu video game tournaments, they’ll be back to their usual kick ass selves.

Proof that life is possible outside of Lyon.

However, I do have one concern. Puel has to find a way to more effectively manage squad rotation. I’ve noticed that he’s done this before – he likes to use the same starting XI from a midweek European match in the game the following weekend. I know that works some of the time, especially when the players have built up winning momentum, but sometimes that tactic backfires. Today, all players looked dried up. They had no juice left. Not even a drop. Granted, right now there are a lot of injuries to contend with, but he could have started Cesar Delgado, Michel Bastos, or even Francois Clerc. Even Ederson would have been a good option. It’s not like these guys are from the CFA squad – they all have tons of experience.

Last season, Lyon dropped 25 points in the matches that immediately preceded or followed a Champions League game. And while I’d sacrifice the league title for significant progress in the CL, if Lyon aren’t careful, they might end up in another shit streak and start dropping points left and right in these kind of games. So this is something for Puel to be wary of.

Video Highlights:

Nice have fallen, and they have fallen hard after the departure of coach Frédéric Antonetti to Rennes. They currently languish in the relegation zone, just above winless Grenoble who are keeping them from the rock bottom of the table. Indeed, since Antonetti’s departure, Les Aiglons have had a complete reversal of fortunes: going from a perennial top-of-the-table squad in the last couple of years, to relegation material.

And I have to give club president Maurice Cohen some credit, well, I don’t know if it was avarice or foresight that prevented him from selling Loic Remy to OL this summer, because, he seems to be the main reason that Nice isn’t winless, and may play an integral part of any future surge that Nice may mount to battle their way out of the basement in the coming months. Loic makes-up 50% of the offense.

History: Nice have a winning record in all head-to-head competions vs. OL. They are 19-8-12 vs. Lyon. But, you’d have to go back to September of ‘95, when Nice took a 1-0 victory at home vs. OL, to find their last win.

Nice’s Form: As afromentioned, Nice are in dysmal form. Aside from a 3-2 victory against Valenciennes two weeks ago, Les Aiglons haven’t had a victory since week one( vs. St. Etienne 2-0). They currently sit in 19th place in the table with a 2-2-5 record. They have just one (1) win at home and are 19th in that department. They are 14th in attack with nine (9) goals scored. Their defense is an absolute shambles: a dysmal 20th in defense- last in the league- with (20) goals allowed.

When they lose, they usually lose big: Nice have gone down by an average margin of two (2) goals in their loses, and have given-up (3) goals on average in all their losses. They have taken real beatings at the hands of: Bordeaux: 4-0; Montpellier: 3-0; Monaco: 3-1; St. Etienne: 4-1; and Lorient: 4-1. Just an added woeful defensive stat: Nice has allowed and average of two (2)goals/pr match in all competitions.

Again, like last week vs. Sochaux- well they did have something to play for in their fallen teammate- OL only have themselves to blame for anything less than a victory in the match.

Injuries: Cleber, Boumsong, Bodmer, Seguin and Faure are still out. The hospital gets even more full this week, since Kim Kallstrom will miss the trip, out with “muscle pain,” and in news that really sank my spirits, Hugo Lloris will miss his homecoming and is out with- you guessed it- adductor problems!!!!!!! What the hell is going on? Is this the trainer’s fault or is there really a superior deity who is torturing OL for shits and giggles? In the last two years it was devastating knee injuries, and this year, the flavor of the season is the adductor strain.

This injury comes at the worst time in that we have an upcoming stretch of games that will require our utmost on the defensive side of the pitch; matches against St. Etienne at the end of this month then a murderous entire month of November, with matches against Liverpool, Marseille, Fiorentina, and Rennes respectively. The calender looks intimidating, but even more so when you imagine Remy Vercoutre starting during that stretch.

There is some good news though: Cris is operational after that knock to the head that he recieved at Anfield on Tuesday, so thakfully we won’t be seeing Maxime Gonalons at CB.

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Hartock – Cris, Réveillère, Clerc, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan, Gonalons – Makoun, Pjanic, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson – Govou, Belfodil, Tafer, Gomis, Lisandro.

Prediction: I think OL still have an Anfield hangover, but that won’t be enough to stop them from putting a couple of goals through Nice’s swiss cheese, sieve of a defense. 2-1 due to Vercoutre’s tending the nets.

Formation:

Vercoutre
Clerc-Cris -Toulalan-Cissokho
Pjanic-Makoun-Ederson
Bastos-Gomis-Lisandro

Well, after the short but much needed international break, Lyon head back to office. The break gave us some much needed time for the laundry list of players out due to injury, to continue their convalescences. But unfortunatley, we haven’t healed where we really need it: on the defenesive side of the ball, but there is a ray of light in that our two offensive superpowers Lisandro and Bastos- who shockingly haven’t been missed very much since they’ve gone down- will be match ready. What a difference a year makes: imagine our two best offensive players going down last year, and what a disaster that would have been! But as always, our CBs continue to limp along, with the injury monster rearing it’s ugly head again this week, although we might have dodged a bullet on that one- more on that later.

More important than Saturday’s match though, is the sad news that’s struck both the Sochaux and the US footballing community: Sochaux and US international striker Charlie Davies was involved in a serious car accident midweek in Washington D.C. Apparently Davies’ passenger died in the crash and Charlie was listed in serious but stable condition after hours of surgery to repair fractures to this right tibia and femur by having steel rods inserted in them, fractures to his left elbow and face, as well as a lacerated bladder. The doctors say it will take anywhere from six to twelve months to recover from the injury through intense rehab and that he will be bedridden for one to two months. Hopefully Davies makes a swift recovery and return to L1- where he’s quickly become a favorite, and to international football.

As for the match, Sochaux have their work cut out for them. Lyon are in blistering form, and Sochaux walking out of Gerland with even a draw seems highly unlikely.

Sochaux’s Form: Les Lionceaux are below par in just about every category. A perennial mid-table squad, they are currently in 14th place in the league, hovering just over the drop, with a 3-0-5 record. They have just two (2) wins at home- ranked 14th, and more importantly for our purposes, just (1) one win away- ranked 16th. They are ranked 14th in attack with (8)eight goals scored, and 16th in defense with (13) allowed, just four less than last placed Grenoble.

Sochaux had been on a four match losing streak and have just two wins in their last seven before taking a victory at home vs. lowly Le Mans, right before the break. They have not managed to score more than one goal in each of their three victories, all of them ending with a 1-0 scoreline, and only one of those victories came on the road. This fact, coupled with the fact that with the loss of their major offensive signing of the summer Charlie Davies, Les Lionceaux will lose 1/4 of their offense, things look bleak. The only worries left are the Lion’s remaining “teeth:” striker Vaclav Sverkos and CMF Marvin Martin- the other half of the offense. The only hope they have are that OL have become rusty over the break and come-out completely flat, or that the tragedy of their fallen teammate, infuses their play. Other than that, I’m going with a 2-0 Lyon victory.

Injuries:

Les Lyonnais: The usuals: Cleber, Boumsong, Bodmer; Cris- what the F#CK is going on with adductors this year?- was a maybe until late Friday, and so was Kallstrom who picked-up some muscle injury on international duty. They are both included in the group but are I guess will have to wait to see if they are operational on Saturday. If not, we may see a Makoun-Toul pairing at CB with Seguin out with a muscle strain, and Faure and Fontaine not available for whatever reasons. Oh, and in terms of some good news: Bastos, Delgado and Lilo are back in form, so they’ll probably see some light second half action.

Le groupe lyonnais : Lloris, Vercoutre- Cris, Réveillère, Clerc, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan, Källström, Gonalons, Makoun, Pjanic, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson, Govou, Belfodil, Tafer, Gomis, Lisandro.

Sochaux: As if the loss of the Charlie Davies wasn’t a big enough blow to an already light squad, Sochaux are experiencing their own injury crisis. Les Lionceaux will be without Boudebouz, Stevanovic, Carlao and Dalmat. The only good news for them, and maybe bad for us, is that Sverkos will be back in action after injury.

Le groupe sochalien: Dreyer, Richert – Faty, Perquis, Bréchet, Jokic, Mikari, Josse, Dramé – Martin, Maurice-Belay, Gavanon, Nogueira, Tulasne – Sverkos, Butin, Privat, Gurler.

Starting Formation:

The only doubt for me is does Lilo start?

Lloris
Reveillere-Cris -Toulalan-Cissokho
Clerc-Makoun-Pjanic
Govou-Gomis-Lisandro

October 3, 2009
Stade Felix-Bollaert, Lens
3 PM ET (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT)

Match Background:

I’m sure many of you recall the drama surrounding Lens the last couple of years. A few seasons back, they were a hairsbreadth from qualifying for the Champions League. When they didn’t, Francis Gillot, their manager at the time resigned, which then prompted Guy Roux to take over the following season, except he left after he brought the club to the relegation zone. Then another manager – French footballing great Jean-Pierre Papin – took over and tried to change the club’s fortunes around, but by then, Lens was stuck in a rut and unable to get out. However, Lens got a new coach after their relegation, and unsurprisingly, they ended last season as L2 champions.

So far, Lens seems more stable than the past few years, and while their performances have fluctuated, it doesn’t look like they have to worry about dropping into the danger zone. At least not yet – the season is still young, after all. But if you’re like me, you’ll be crossing your fingers and praying that Lens survives in L1, because let’s face it, the topflight isn’t nearly as fun without Le Sang et Or.

Like all relegated clubs, Lens suffered a significant squad turnover, with players having left for both sporting and financial reasons. However, there are some familiar names, including Vedran Runje, Issam Jemaa, Toifilou Maoulida, and Kanga Akale. And while Lens might lack the big name players of the other major L1 teams, I’ve heard only good things about Yohan Demont and Kevin Monnet-Paquet, who is supposedly on the list of clubs like Fiorentina.

Currently, Lens are in 13th place, with eight points. Of the seven league games so far, they’ve won two, drawn two, and lost three. They’ve scored 8 goals and conceded 12. Their morale might also be a bit down – they had a demoralized 3-0 loss to Le Mans last weekend, but then again, they might be even more determined to make up for the embarrassment. Lens also have a fully fit squad, so their manager will undoubtedly be putting out his strongest team. Also keep in mind that this is the second time Lyon will be facing Lens this season – the two teams met in a friendly back in July, a game which ended 2-2.

Team News:

Unlike Lens, I can’t even remember the last time Lyon had a fully fit squad. Even during the pre-season, someone was suffering some form of brokenness. In fact, have Lyon ever been fully fit? Raise your hand if you know the answer. Anyway, no new updates. Cleber Anderson will be out until late winter, Mathieu Bodmer and Jean-Alain Boumsong are still having never-ending groin problems, while Lyon’s pair of Argentines, Cesar Delgado and Lisandro Lopez, are also plagued by various muscle problems. Jean II Makoun is absent due to personal reasons (his father passed away earlier this week, so he is in Cameroon for the funeral).

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre, Cris, Seguin, Réveillère, Clerc, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan, Källström, Gonalons, Pjanic, Bastos, Ederson, Grenier, Govou, Belfodil, Tafer, Gomis.

The good news is that Michel Bastos is back in the squad. There were some concerns with Miralem Pjanic and Aly Cissokho, both of whom had to be subbed off early during the game against Debrecen due to muscle pain, but they’ve shaken it off now and are back to normal. Puel is once again bringing along a bunch of kids to compensate for all the absences. This time, Nicolas Seguin joins fellow kiddies Yannis Tafer, Maxime Gonalons, Ishak Belfodil, Clement Grenier, and Timothee Kolodziejczak.

Expected Lineup:

Break out the lulz. Because really, what else can you do when you realize that you have only one Jeremy Toulalan to play in two positions?

Lloris
Reveillere – Cris – Toulalan – Cissokho
Pjanic – Gonalons – Kallstrom
Govou – Gomis – Bastos

It is possible to see Francois Clerc at RB instead, but Puel might feel more secure at having Anthony Reveillere in order to compensate for the defensive weaknesses elsewhere. Even more unlikely is Nicolas Seguin starting at CB next to Cris because A)he’s really a fullback by trade, B)he has zero first team experience, and C)the team is better off with Jeremy Toulalan as CB and Maxime Gonalons at DM than they would be with Seguin at CB and Toulalan at DM.

Which brings us to midfield. At least Gonalons has some (okay, well just a tiny bit) experience, and with Kim Kallstrom playing beside him (in a hopefully more defensive role than he usually plays) and with Toulalan behind him, I think he’ll do okay. I also expect Miralem Pjanic to start although I hope he doesn’t – he’s young, and playing every three days might wear him out before we even reach the halfway point of our season. Better to let him rest (especially because he’s been called up by Bosnia for international week) and let Ederson play instead.

Up front, I’m guess Puel will start Michel Bastos. While he is coming back from injury, it’s been awhile since he’s played, and he’ll have to regain match fitness before facing Liverpool. He’s not an international player, so he won’t get the opportunity in the next two weeks. Also, Puel wouldn’t have allowed him to come along if he weren’t fully fit – this is Lens, not Liverpool, and Puel has other players at his disposal to cover Bastos’s absence. Bafetimbi Gomis and Sidney Govou are foregone conclusions.

Viewing Options:

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Expected Result:

Lens are at home, so they’ll probably get a goal. But I expect Lyon to outscore them. Something along the lines of 2-1 seems reasonable to me.

I was going to put up a match preview, but Thomas over at the PSG Offside did such a great job in his preview that anything I could say would be redundant. I suggest you head over there to check it out. In addition, Thomas will also be liveblogging this game, starting at 3 PM. He’ll be using it CoverItLive, which is a great way for both bloggers and readers to interact. I’ve gone ahead and posted a link to Thomas’s Liveblog on this page, so definitely participate. In the event that my link doesn’t work, visit the PSG Offside and join the livechat in there.