CdL: Lyon vs. Metz, Round of 16

By: Inara | November 10th, 2008

This is how we know the season has really started – when the domestic cup competitions starting clogging the calendar. From now until May (Lyon are going to win a quadruple this year, duh), there will be games every three days. Factor in internationals, and things look awfully brutal. Good thing Lyon have such a big squad, right?

Just to clarify for those who aren’t familiar with French football, the Coupe de la Ligue is one of two domestic cup competitions in France. The CdL is for professional clubs and only features those that participate in the top two divisions of French football, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. As champions, Lyon get a bye from the first round of the competition and go straight to the round of 16 (as does Bordeaux, the runners up). The other competition, the Coupe de France, is open to all clubs in France, both amateur and professional. All clubs start the Round of 32 in the Cdf.

November 11, 2008
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
3 PM ET (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT)

Match background:

Metz, who we all remember from last year, are currently plying their trade in Ligue 2 this year because they failed to stay up in the topflight last season (they ended last year in 20th place…). But as teams go, they aren’t pansies and will be spoiling for a fight tomorrow.

My familiarity with L2 teams is not the greatest, so I can’t speak with any certainty about their current squad except to repeat some stats: their top scorer is Demba Cisse with four goals, followed by Romain Rocchi with three. Christophe Marichez, their goalkeeper, has ensured that Metz have the second best defense in their division.

Oh, did I mention that they are the team that gave us Miralem Pjanic? Thanks, Metz!

Metz are currently in 4th place on the L2 table, having scored 14 goals and conceded 8. While their attack is not the most prolific, their defense is very respectable, even though they are in a lower division.

On the Lyon side of things, Claude Puel made it very clear that he is taking this competition seriously. Thanks to Alain Perrin, who raised the standard (it pains me to say it, but credit should be given where it’s due), anything less than a double this year (or strong advancement in the Champions League) will be a failure for Puel.

Keep in mind that two seasons ago, Lyon were this close to clinching the cup, but thanks to a Remy Vercoutre blunder that gifted Bordeaux with a last gasp goal, all Lyon can say for themselves is that they were finalists. It’s also important to note that the last time Lyon won the Coupe de la Ligue was back in 2001. It’s considered to be the trophy that started Lyon’s dominance in French football.

In other CdL matches, Bordeaux have a pretty straightforward game against Guingamp. Sochaux will have it tough against Lens, and Wednesday’s matches feature top flight teams facing off against each other, with PSG taking on Nancy and Le Havre taking on Rennes. As for Marseille, they will be facing…no one! They never made it past the last round. Hehe.

Interesting facts: Juninho has never scored in this competition, but Sidney Govou has scored five, making him Lyon’s top scorer in the Coupe de la Ligue. Of the current squad, besides Govou, Karim Benzema, Kader Keita, and Mathieu Bodmer have one goal each in this competition. Govou is also the only player who won the CdL with OL back in 2001 that’s still on the team, though Remy Vercoutre won the cup when he was on loan at Strasbourg in 2005.

Claude Puel was the manager of the Monaco team that lost to Lyon in the 2001 CdL final. Ouch.

Lyon info:

It’s a very depleted Lyon squad that will be available for tomorrow’s game, partially due to injuries and partially due to the Puel’s decision. Of course Miralem Pjanic and Francois Clerc are out, and so is John Mensah and Mathieu Bodmer unfortunately.

Puel has also decided to rest Jeremy Toulalan, Hugo Lloris, Cesar Delgado, and Karim Benzema. So they will not be on the bench tomorrow night. Which is great because even if Lyon are losing tomorrow, Puel can’t ask them to play because otherwise he’d be forced to.

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Hartock – Grosso, Boumsong, Cris, Faure, Réveillère, Gassama – Fabio Santos, Källström, Makoun – Juninho, Govou, Ederson, Mounier, Keita, Fred, Piquionne.

Juninho and Kader Keita, who were both rested during last weekend’s game against Monaco, make their return to the team. Sebastien Faure and Lamine Gassama also make the bench, but unfortunately, Thimothée Kolodzieczak doesn’t.

Expected lineup:

We know two things from Puel’s pre-match press conference. One, that Remy Vercoutre will start in goal (which was kind of obvious due to Hugo Lloris not being called up), and that two, Fabio Santos will also be starting (YAYYYY).

Vercoutre
Gassama – Cris – Boumsong – Grosso
Juninho – Fabio Santos – Kallstrom
Govou – Piquionne – Mounier

I’m praying, PRAYING, that Anthony Reveillere gets a rest. He’s played nearly every single minute of every single game so far this season. And it’s going to be awhile before Francois Clerc comes back, so Reveillere has to be kept fresh. Lamine Gassama has looked decent in his last two Lyon outings, so he should be able to manage against Metz. Unfortunately for Lyon, the remaining three at the back have no choice but to play.

In midfield, with Fabio Santos starting for sure, Puel should keep Jean II Makoun on the bench. It’s Metz, surely Lyon don’t need two DMs. Kim Kallstrom will be looking to have another great game, and Juninho will want to get some game time into his legs. If he doesn’t start, then Ederson will probably take his place.

Up front, Frederic Piquionne hasn’t played in awhile and surely deserves some minutes. It’s possible Puel might up to play him together with Fred, though it doesn’t seem likely. Anthony Mounier hasn’t played in awhile either, and Sidney Govou needs time since he is still rusty from his long injury layoff. Instead of Mounier, Puel may opt to give Kader Keita, who didn’t play against Monaco, some time on the pitch.

Viewing options:

This match will be broadcast in France on France 3, a free television channel (I think). So hopefully there will be some streams for this match. If you are in France, or have a proxy server to give you a French IP, you can watch it for free online. Otherwise, check out this page for links.

Expected results:

I’m hoping for a solid 2-0 win. I would love more goals, but I’m afraid to hope.