Nancy vs. Lyon (Or, Nancy Boys Get Ready to Kick Our Asses)

By: Inara | December 21st, 2007

Here we are at the last game before winter holidays! It seems like only yesterday when Lyon were losing every other game and having key players pick up serious long term injuries. Time does fly, doesn’t it?

Anyway, back when people were making rosy predications of a real title race in France, everyone expected it to be between Lyon and Marseille (or PSG, Bordeaux, Rennes, even Monaco!) fighting for Ligue 1 dominance. So imagine everyone’s surprise when it turned out that the biggest threat to Lyon’s seventh consecutive title is…Nancy. It’s not quite the top of the table clash that everyone was expecting.

December 22nd, 2007
Stade Marcel Picot, Nancy
11:10 AM Eastern Time (17:10 in France)

Match background:

There are so many jokes that can be made about “Nancy.” But despite the hilarity of their name, Nancy have turned out to be one of L1’s toughest prospects. They are the only team in the French top flight this year that didn’t buy a single player over the summer. They have one of the smallest budgets in Ligue 1 and are the exact opposite of Lyon in terms of style and glamor.

And yet…there is something very admirable about Nancy. They have no particular player that stands out, and yet each of them play together for what is currently the best team unit in France. They are the type of guys who are out weeding their lawns the day after a game, guys who don’t just relate to the people but are the people. Nancy is the kind of club that makes you feel like everyone’s your friend. In fact, the former-player-turned-coach, Pablo Correa, insist that his players address him as the more informal tu rather than vous, invites their tactical input, and sometimes even allows them to smoke after training. He doesn’t try to intimidate his players and scare them into submission. He values their intelligence and wants to be close to them.

The result of which is a high-flying team that has defied even the most optimistic of expectations. Nancy are only four points adrift of Lyon, have the best defense in the league (only 10 goals conceded), and have the best home record with no losses while having only lost two games overall (whereas Lyon lost four games already). Of course their offensive arsenal isn’t quite as effective as Lyon’s either, but with 24 goals scored, they are tied for 3rd for L1’s best attack.

Though if I did have to pick a few Nancy players to highlight, I would mention Gennaro Bracigliano, who is a great goalkeeper. Sebastien Puygrenier and Michael Chretien have also contributed to Nancy’s solid defense while Kim, Marc-Antoine Fortune, and Youssouf Hadji are mostly responsible for the attack.

As for Lyon, this is the first time they will be playing their direct rival this season. Perrin has promised to take this game more seriously than he did against Caen and Nice. Lyon have unfortunately been leaking goals in L1, and with 15 conceded, the club can’t really take comfort from the 37 scored.

If Lyon win, the gap between first and second place will extend to seven points. If they lose, the gap will be reduced to one point. So winning at Nancy is crucial if the team wants to go into winter break with space to maneuver when they return in January.

Also, in the past six years, Lyon have never won the last game before midwinter break. It’s like a curse.

Lyon info:

I’m getting awfully tired of talking about damn injuries. So from now on, just assume that Gregory Coupet, Patrick Muller, and Cris are out injured. Not that Coupet is actually injured, but he hasn’t returned to full fitness. Anyway, I’ll let you know when they’re ready to play again.

Kader Keita is sick with the stomach flu, so he’ll miss the match. Fabio Santos is still not ready yet. It seems the club is in no hurry to rush him, especially with the holidays starting this Sunday. Fred is fit, but Perrin has ruled him out because he’s not “mentally ready.”

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Roux - Clerc, Réveillère, C.Anderson, Squillaci, Paillot, Grosso, Belhadj - Bodmer, Källström, Toulalan, Govou, Ben Arfa - Mounier, Benzéma, Baros, Rémy.

But the biggest blow is Juninho’s suspension. This is the first time he’s ever missed the last game before winter break, and he had really been looking forward to it (but thankfully, he didn’t have a Cassano-esque breakdown). He will be missed on the pitch because the last time Lyon played Nancy without Juninho was in November 2006 at the Gerland. Lyon struggled to eck out a 1-0 win. In a game where Nancy will be depending on their defense, Lyon could really use his set-piece artistry.

Expected Lineup:

Sans Juninho, Perrin will definitely be putting out his all-star lineup. Not only is this the last game before the holidays, but it’s not like Lyon can afford to take their foot off the pedal, not even for a second. When they did, they were quickly punished by the likes of Lorient and Caen.

Vercoutre
Reveillere - Squillaci - Anderson - Grosso
Bodmer - Toulalan - Kallstrom
Govou - Benzema - Ben Arfa

Since Francois Clerc played in the last two games, I’m guessing Perrin will use Anthony Reveillere some time on the pitch. Besides that, I don’t know who else Perrin can switch around. Lyon aren’t exactly blessed with squad depth at the moment. Also, I’m assuming that Milan Baros and Nadir Belhadj will get some time on the pitch. Both of them need it.

I admit that I’m not too happy at the early time of this game. Last week, Lyon had to play another early match, one that punished them because it was immediately after their Rangers game. Still, the players have had a lot of time to rest up, so no excuses about tiredness.

Also, it was Karim Benzema’s birthday on Wednesday. Let’s hope he celebrates by scoring another hat-trick.

Viewing options:

You can try to find streams here. I’ll also try to post links in the comments of this post before the match starts.

Expected Result:

I have the icky feeling that this could be a 1-1 draw simply because Lyon’s defenses are weak while Nancy’s are strong. Still, Lyon should be motivated after today’s knockout round draws and put in some good performances.