Alain Perrin is Coming Home!

By: Inara | February 1st, 2009

Sort of, anyway.

Alain Perrin took over management of St. Etienne last November, after the last derby that took place in August. Today will be bittersweet for him because he won more trophies than any other OL manager (four), led the squad to their first ever domestic double, and despite a horrible injury crisis, was a hairsbreadth away from kicking Manchester United out of the Champions League. But he was fired anyway because he’s a crappy man manager and had managed to alienate both players and staff alike by the end of his tenure.

Today he’ll be especially desperate for a win just to stick the proverbial middle finger up at Jean-Michel Aulas and Bernard Lacombe, and to show the fans that Claude Puel isn’t that great (though I think he is!).

February 1, 2008
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
3 PM ET (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT)

Match background:

St. Etienne are not doing well this year. Though many would like to point the finger at Perrin, his predecessor Laurent Roussey shares most of the blame. St. Etienne spent the first half of the season on a losing streak, and though it’s already February, they are still in the process of recovery. Their goal this year is simply to avoid relegation. Interestingly, St. Etienne are doing really well in the UEFA Cup and will be in the Round of 32, with a very good chance of progressing. So at least something is going right for them.

St. Etienne has several injured players, including David Sauget, Christophe Landrin, Sylvain Monsoreau, and Loic Perrin. However, they still have a strong squad, and when they are in form, a dangerous one. Blaise Matuidi, Yohann Hartcoeur, Dimitri Payet, and Bafetimbi Gomis, just to name a few. Gomis is also their top scorer, with six goals.

Right now, St. Etienne are in 16th place, with six wins, two draws, and thirteen loses, having scored 16 goals and conceded 30. They are just one spot above the relegation zone. They are only one point ahead of the next team, so a loss could see them in the zone itself. They really need those three points, and more importantly, they need a moral boosting win. So St. Etienne will be coming to the Gerland with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Lyon are tenuously in first place, but Bordeaux, Marseille, PSG, and even Rennes and Toulouse are hot on their heels. Bordeaux are only one point below Lyon, and they have a game today as well. So if they win, they will, at least temporarily, be in first place until the Lyon-St. Etienne match takes place. Lyon have 21 wins, six draws, and three losses, with only 26 goals scored and 13 conceded. Bordeaux and Marseille have each scored 11 more goals than Lyon, by the way.

Lyon haven’t lost at home to St. Etienne since 1992, and they’ve won every game since then except a scoreless draw that took place ten years ago. So history is certainly on Lyon’s side.

Lyon info:

No new injuries to report, which is a rarity in itself. Good news is that Francois Clerc and Anthony Reveillere are rehabilitating just fine – Clerc is expected to make a full return by the end of this month (hopefully). Mathieu Bodmer is also doing well, though no news on when we’ll be seeing him. Sidney Govou and John Mensah are being kept off their feet for now.

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre – Grosso, Boumsong, Cris, Mensah – Juninho, Toulalan, Makoun, Fabio Santos, Källström, Pied – Ederson, Pjanic, Delgado, Mounier – Tafer, Piquionne, Benzema.

This is the third game in a row that Fred has been left out. It’s obvious that Puel would like to leave him out permanently, but eventually Fred will be called back into the team, probably right before the Champions League starts up again. Yannis Tafer and Jeremy Pied also make their return to the senior team. Tafer got to play against Concarneau, so he’ll be looking for more minutes.

Expected Lineup:

Lloris
Fabio Santos – Cris – Boumsong – Grosso
Toulalan – Juninho
Ederson – Delgado – Kallstrom
Benzema

At least that is my guess for Puel’s preferred starting lineup at the moment. Fabio Santos has been filling in so adequately at the back that Puel decided not to recruit an additional RB, especially since Clerc will be returning soon anyway. Cris and Jean-Alain Boumsong are a very solid pair, and having adjusted to each other, are not making any of the blunders that were common in the beginning of the year. Fabio Grosso is also fitting in really well, helping to make the backline a refreshingly solid one. Gone are the horrible memories from the summer, when leaking in goals was a pastime.

In midfield, it’s obvious that Jean II Makoun is second choice to Jeremy Toulalan, who has yet to put a foot wrong. Juninho is still essential and irreplaceable. Puel seems to prefer only two central midfielders in recent times, especially because it allows him to play someone right behind the striker.

Up front, the phrase is DELGADO!!! Cesar Delgado is finally coming into his own, and so is Ederson. Both have been doing really well in recent weeks, and hopefully the progression will continue. Problems continue on who to put on the left. Kim Kallstrom is there right now, and while he’s been doing okay, he’s not a winger. Miralem Pjanic is still too weak to have the necessary physical force, Anthony Mounier is too inexperienced, and Kader Keita is still a far cry from what he was at Lille. With Sidney Govou out, options are slim.

At least we know who the striker will be. Karim Benzema seems to have hit a slump in recent weeks, but he’s showing signs of getting out of it. St. Etienne has always been a good luck team for him, so hopefully he’ll continue the trend of scoring against them.

Viewing options:

This game will be live on Setanta and Setanta Broadband. You can also find streams here. As always, if you find a good stream, please share in the comments!

Expected result:

I’m hoping for a 2-0. The players are motivated to attack, and the defense is solid.