Lyon vs. Barcelona Preview

By: Inara | November 26th, 2007

Geez. I go out of town for a couple of days and then return to the depressing news that Karim Benzema was injured thanks to Alain Perrin’s dependence on him. Benzema is a super player and all, but he’s still human. He needs to rest. I was going to post a long rant on that actually, but I’ll wait until Wednesday so I can include the results of our match against Barcelona.

Lyon’s situation is that they CANNOT lose. A draw tomorrow means they have to win at Ibrox, but a win tomorrow means they can escape with a draw in Scotland (if Stuttgart also don’t lose tomorrow to Rangers). Let’s keep our fingers crossed, everyone.

November 27, 2007
Stade de Gerland, France
2:45 Eastern Time (20:45 in France)

Match Background: Barcelona have more or less qualified since it’s pretty likely they’ll win their final match at home against Stuttgart. But again, you never know how things work out (like Lyon inexplicably losing 3-0 at home to Rangers), so I can’t imagine Frank Rijkaard putting out a substandard lineup. Barcelona are currently group leaders, but if they lose the next to matches, they may not qualify. But if they win one, they’ll be group winners. Funny how that works, huh?

Lyon are sitting third in the table with six points, a mere point behind Rangers. But that crucial point difference could well be the decider for second place. Unfortunately for Lyon, who dug their own grave with a lackluster performance on Match Day 2, they have no one else to blame but themselves for their current position.

At least we are qualified for the UEFA Cup (if that’s any consolation), but even if Aulas and Perrin are saying a UEFA Cup run wouldn’t be the end of the world, the players have made it absolutely clear that they are here to play in the Champions League.

Abi will come home.

On a personal level, Eric Abidal will be returning to the Gerland for the first time since his departure last June. On his part, he claims to be looking forward to seeing his old teammates, old stadium, and old hometown (he is from Lyon). Edmilson, another former OL turned Barca player, will unfortunately not be making the trip. And this trip may also serve motivation for Hatem Ben Arfa, who was recently linked to Barcelona (though I don’t think it’s very serious).

The Teams:

A lot has been said about Barcelona’s away form, but as Marseille showed everyone last week, it only takes one good game to break a bad cycle. Who knows, maybe Barcelona might decide to wake up from their away day doldrums while they are at the Gerland. They are currently third in La Liga with a respectable 26 goals scored and only 10 conceded. Their win over Recreativo Huelva has put them in a confident mood for tomorrow.

As for Lyon, they are in first place but only three points ahead of surprise challengers Nancy. Their domestic home record this season was tarnished by a 1-1 draw against Lille in September and a 2-1 loss to a resurgent Marseille last weekend. And we all know that in the Champions League, the invulnerable Stade de Gerland took two big CL losses within the space of one year, so Lyon can’t rely on recent history for comfort (ironically, Lyon’s recent away performances in the Champions League are better than at home).

Several years ago, Barcelona drew with Lyon at the Gerland and knocked them out of contention for the knockout rounds. Let’s not see a repeat of history please.

Player News:

I’ve already done a more in depth overview of Barcelona’s manager and key players in my review of the Barca-Lyon match, so this time I’ll just provide updated information.

The biggest news from Barcelona is that Thierry Henry won’t be participating in tomorrow’s game due to back problems. Oleguer will also be missing, and Carles Puyol, having recently recovered from injury, is a doubt – though he’s been included on the squad list. On the flip side, Ronaldinho and Lilian Thuram have been declared fit again. I thought Samuel Eto’o would have been fit by now, but I guess not. But don’t start celebrating – it’s not like Barcelona’s bench is suddenly threadbare.

La lista completa la forman: Valdés, Jorquera, Márquez, Puyol, Sylvinho, Milito, Abidal, Thuram, Zambrotta, Touré, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Xavi, Marc Crosas, Ezquerro, Bojan, Ronaldinho and Messi.

On behalf of Lyon, Perrin has called up 20 players. Cris and Gregory Coupet are still missing, as is Patrick Muller though he’s supposedly fit again. Milan Baros is also “injured” but then he was just fine during the Czech Republic’s Euro 2008 qualifiers. I wish I knew what was going on with Baros and Muller. Oh Nancy Drew, where are you?

Thierry Henry will miss this trip.

Benzema took a knock to his thigh and his participation has been ruled as “tres tres uncertain.” The Lyon doctors are saying that if the game had been on Wednesday, he would have recovered in time. Benzema on the other hand seems confident he’ll be ready. You can take this news in two ways: A: as truth, or B: as misinformation, with Benzema’s injury not being as serious as the club is saying. I’m a pessimist, so I’ll go with choice A. Perrin did include Benzema on the squad list, but it’s probably precautionary.

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Roux – Clerc, C. Anderson, Réveillère, Paillot, Squillaci, Grosso, Belhadj, Bodmer – Toulalan, Källström, Fabio Santos, Juninho, Govou, Ben Arfa, Keita – Benzema, Rémy, Fred.

Lyon have also recovered Anderson and Fabio Santos, who were both suspended against Rennes over the weekend. Sandy Paillot has also been included as an extra defensive option, and Jeremy Toulalan returns to the Champions League after nearly two months out of action.

Tactics:

I think this will be rather obvious. Perrin has surely learned from his past mistakes and will now keep things simple. Lyon will probably utilize their beloved 4-3-3 formation, which is what they know best. Lyon need to rely on familiarity to get them through, especially against a formidable opponent like Barca. This is not the time to play musical chairs.

Vercoutre
Reveillere – Squillaci – Anderson – Grosso
Juninho – Toulalan – Kallstrom
Govou – Fred – Ben Arfa

Since Benzema is unlikely, Fred will probably start, and since Hatem Ben Arfa and Sidney Govou are in the forms of their lives, I can’t imagine them not starting either. That sucks for Kader Keita, but he’ll probably be subbed in the second half. Also, if Benzema is fit, he might also get a second half substitution if things are dire. Maybe.

Juninho and Toulalan are probably a given for a starting spot. It’s that third midfield spot that has me wondering. I think Lyon could really use Fabio Santos on the pitch because he will lend additional physical presence and also additional tactical vision. But those three have only played together once before (against Lens in early September) whereas a midfield triangle featuring Kim Kallstrom has been nearly ever present since the start of the season. And as we saw from the Rennes game, Kallstrom plays best when alongside of Toulalan. There is also Mathieu Bodmer, but I find it unlikely he will start in midfield.

Lionel Messi may once again prove to be Lyon’s undoing.

In defense, it’s pretty cut and dried. Remy Vercoutre of course, and he’ll probably have Sebastien Squillaci and Anderson in front of him. I say probably because Perrin might for some mysterious reason place Bodmer in midfield. Fabio Grosso will most likely get the nod at left back, which leaves only right back undecided. I think the choice will be to go with Anthony Reveillere, who is better defensively and is one booking away from a suspension. But if I were him, I’d go ahead and pick up that card because Francois Clerc is a better choice against Rangers in two weeks anyway.

Viewing Options:

I’ll post streaming links tomorrow, but given the participants in this match, there will be lots to choose from. Here in Amreeca, ESPN Deportes and TSN will be broadcasting this match live. ESPN Classic will be showing it on tape delay at 5 PM while ESPN Deportes will repeat their broadcast at 9 PM. Setanta is only offering this match as pay-per-view.

Don’t forget that you can buy a clear stream in several different languages from UEFA/ESPN/Setanta for $7.95.

Expected Results:

I don’t see Lyon escaping with a clean sheet. I’m too afraid to predict anything else. ALLEZ LYONNAIS!!!