Lyon vs. Lens, aka Rangers Warm Up

By: Inara | September 27th, 2007

Tomorrow’s game against Lens is an opportunity for Lyon to get into shape for next week’s Champions League match. With performances improving steadily (the Barca match notwithstanding), Lyon are inching closer and closer to being “in form.” This match was deferred because of Lens’s UEFA Cup commitments, so the rest of L1 is at rest this weekend. Jay at the Lens Offside may have some more information for you on the Lens side of things.

September 29, 2007
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
12:00 PM Eastern Time (18:00 in France)

Match details:

Lyon seem to be Lens’s bête noire, whether home or away. Of the forty times that Lens played at the Gerland, they have only managed five victories (the last one was in 1997). Last year, Lyon won 3-0, with goals from Govou, Juninho, and Alou Diarra. How’s that for irony?

Still, they aren’t a team to be taken lightly, and despite the lack of big names in their lineup, they are one of the more offensive and attractive teams in L1. Like all French teams, they suffered a significant amount of player turnover, losing key players such as Seydou Keita (Sevilla), Jussie (Bordeaux), Daniel Cousin (Rangers), and Charles Itandje (Liverpool). But Le Sang et Or have also done some heavy reinforcing, luring over Julien Sable (Saint Etienne), Kanga Akale (Auxerre), and Vedran Runje (Besiktas), to name a few.

There has also been a bit of a managerial merry-go-round at Lens. Their coach last year, Francis Gillot, resigned after Lens bungled what should have been a sure Champions League qualification. The club then brought in Guy Roux (the LFP thought that Roux was too old to coach), but he resigned after a string of four defeats - and during half-time no less. Lens then brought in Jean-Pierre Papin, who masterminded Strasbourg’s promotion back into L1 only to be sacked a short while later.

Papin is doing his best to restart Lens’s campaign, but as expected, it’s going slowly. In seven league games, Lens have only victory, three draws, and three defeats, and what’s more, they have only scored three goals. Lens are currently in the relegation zone in 17th place (though they have two games in hand). They did however defeat Lille on Wednesday to progress into the next round of qualification in the Coupe de la Ligue. Lens are also involved in the UEFA Cup and will be targeting further progress.

As for Lyon, this match is key for two reasons. First of all, dropping more points at home may come back to punish Lyon later in the season. And also, it’s a chance for the players to get into the mood before facing Rangers. A win with a goal differential of more than three points would allow Lyon to temporarily top the table (Nancy also have a game in hand).

Fun fact: Juninho and Lens have a great history together. Juninho made his French debut against Lens on July 2001. In nine matches against Lens, he scored 8 of his 61 L1 goals. Itandge let in 7 of those goals, but have no fear, Juninho has also scored against the current Lens goalkeeper Runje.

Lyon info:

Lyon will still be without Fred and Patrick Muller (as well as Gregory Coupet and Cris, obviously). According to the club website, Francois Clerc and Sidney Govou’s participation against Lens is also dubious.

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Hartock - Clerc, Réveillère, Squillaci, Paillot, Bodmer, Grosso, Belhadj, Fabio Santos, Toulalan, Källström, Juninho, Govou, Mounier, Benzema, Baros, Keita.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Anderson is not on the list because since Anderson signed for Lyon after this match was supposed to have taken place (August 15th), he is ineligible to play. Kim Kallstrom will be starting, though that is to be expected because Mathieu Bodmer will have to return to his defensive duties (unfortunately). In a press conference, Perrin also alluded to Kader Keita’s improvement, and given that Govou is “dubious,” Keita will probably be starting, hopefully along with Hatem Ben Arfa.

Expected lineup:

Vercoutre
Reveillere - Squillaci - Bodmer - Grosso
Keita - Juninho - Toulalan - Kallstrom
Benzema - Ben Arfa

Maybe this formation is wishful thinking on my part, but having Ben Arfa and Karim Benzema on the pitch together is when Lyon play most offensively. I also think Perrin may rest Govou and Clerc for Rangers. Why Clerc? Because Clerc started against Lille last weekend, and Perrin being the farsighted planner and determined RB rotator, knows that it’s Anthony Reveillere’s turn, and more importantly, that against a defensive team like Rangers, a player like Clerc is a better bet against them.

I’m not sure on LB, as I think it’s high time we saw Nadir Belhadj there, with Fabio Grosso being given some rest. But Grosso was benched during the Barca game, so who knows? As for striker, Milan Baros might start, but given his two goals compared to Benzema’s eight, maybe not. Then again, Benzema needs his rest - he’ll need it for Tuesday.

Expected Result:

Any victory will do, but the more convincing the better. Lyon can’t afford a draw - it’s bad for their confidence and their standing in the league tables.

This game may also turn Jo insane as he tries to decide if he should sit with the home or away support.

Viewing Options:

Setanta is crap and won’t be showing ANY L1 matches this weekend. Someone remind me why I’m paying for it? Anyway, illegal streams should be posted here on Saturday morning.