Le Choc: Lyon vs. Bordeaux

By: Inara | March 9th, 2008

Is this the match that decides the title? Many people are saying it could be - if Bordeaux win, they would make a very convincing case for being the first team in seven years to destroy Lyon’s hegemony in France.

Bordeaux also have a bit of a psychological edge over Lyon. They abused us pretty badly last year, the affects of which are still being felt. In January of 2007, they were the first team to inflict a home defeat on Lyon in the league. One month later, they defeated Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue final due to an injury time goal.

Those were rather dark days.

Sunday 9, 2008
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
3:55 PM Eastern Time (21:55 CET, 20:55 GMT)

Match background:

Currently, Bordeaux are only three points adrift of Lyon. This time last season, Lyon were 13 points ahead of second placed Lens, despite a string of winless matches. They have amassed 52 points this season, with 46 goals scored and 26 conceded.

Bordeaux’s record at the Gerland isn’t anything to sneeze at either - in 32 games, they’ve walked away with 11 wins, which is pretty good for 99% of clubs out there. And judging by this year’s indications, Bordeaux have never looked so likely to add to their tally of victories than right now. Plus, they want to smack Lyon for the 3-1 humiliation inflicted on them last October.

Who is the man responsible for a resurgent Bordeaux? Laurent Blanc of course. The managerial virgin has been proving that sometimes, youth and ingenuity can overcome age and wisdom. Unlike last year, when Bordeaux’s football could cause you blindness from sheer boredom, Blanc has Bordeaux playing smart, attractive, and offensive football. This new Bordeaux doesn’t give a shit about anyone.

The most interesting thing about them this season is Blanc’s ability to resurrect careers of players who failed to hack it under different managers and at different clubs. For example, Manchester United reject David Bellion has been knocking in goals left and right, and is the closest player to challenging Karim Benzema for top scorer in L1. Alou Diarra, who spectacularly failed to make an impact at Lyon last season, is marshalling Bordeaux’s organized midfield while also providing a platform for Johan Micoud, who was once considered a potential star of the French National Team.

Wendel, who didn’t seem like much last year, is having one of the best years of his career while Fernando Cavenaghi, who couldn’t even manage ten appearances last year, is now Bordeaux’s biggest threat up front. With eight goals in 14 league appearances, he’s going to want to prove that he can score even against the giants.

As for Lyon…well, a loss would be catastrophic for them in the sense that it would bring team morale pretty low. The last thing we need after being eliminated in the Champions League is another kick in the ass. Blanc was pointing out in his press conference that this year, six teams took three points off Lyon this season (whereas for Bordeaux, it’s only five). However, he was also quick to point out that the only L1 team who won at the Gerland this year was Marseille, in what was a hotly contested match.

Bordeaux and Lyon will be looking for the win, and for the first time in a long time, they want to win for the same reason - to snag that title.

Lyon info:

Besides Patrick Muller and Anderson, both of whom are out with long term knee injuries, Lyon boast an otherwise healthy squad. There are no suspensions either. Perrin was saying how glad he is to have choices in all positions for the first time this season.

Le groupe lyonnais: Coupet, Vercoutre - Reveillère, Clerc, Squillaci, Boumsong, Cris, Grosso - Källström, Toulalan, Bodmer, Crosas - Juninho - Delgado, Ben Arfa, Govou, Keita, Fred, Benzema.

Just look at how many defenders we have! Don’t you just want to weep with joy? However, due to the full complement of players, Anthony Mounier and Romain Beynie were dropped back to the CFAs.

Expected lineup:

Perrin has been talking about squad rotation and fresh players. He also hinted at starting Fred in the center and Karim Benzema on the left (he’ll just love that). Given that Hatem Ben Arfa’s performance in the last few weeks hasn’t been impressive, it’s likely he’ll come on as a sub.

Coupet
Reveillere - Squillaci - Cris - Grosso
Bodmer - Toulalan - Kallstrom
Keita - Fred - Benzema

Since Anthony Reveillere was suspended last Tuesday against Manchester United, I’m assuming he’ll start this match and push Francois Clerc to the bench. Cris is still getting match fit, so he should start as well. I wouldn’t be adverse to giving Sebastien Squillaci a breather, but Jean-Alain Boumsong has never played next to Cris, and you don’t want to experiment in such an important match.

Mathieu Bodmer has been looking good recently and perhaps should have started over Kim Kallstrom last Wednesday. Hopefully, Perrin won’t keep him on the bench this time. Juninho needs rest, so either Kallstrom or Marc Crosas (unlikely in a high stakes match) should start in his place.

Up front, I hope Kader Keita starts. He looked good against United while Sidney Govou looked like he needed rest. Fred seems sure to start as the central striker - the question is whether it will be Benzema next to him or Ben Arfa. Benzema looks most likely at this point.

Viewing options:

Setanta will be broadcasting this match. Also, streaming links can be found here. As always, if you find a good one, I’d appreciate it if you post it in the comments. I’ll do the same.

Expected result:

I’m thinking 2-1. I can see Lyon conceding, but I think the players will want to prove their worth against these upstarts from the coast.