Lens vs. Lyon

By: Inara | October 3rd, 2009

We’re only 24 hours away from a much needed international break. With Lyon’s upcoming fixture schedule, the boys will need every opportunity to rest up. Of course, that isn’t the case for our international players, but at least the other half of the squad can recuperate from half-healed injuries (I’m looking at you, Lisandro). The only obstacle in our path is Lens, who have recently returned from their year long exile in Ligue 2. They also have one of the most football-obsessed fan bases in France, so it’s always a fun trip to make to the Stade Bollaert.

lenslyon

October 3, 2009
Stade Felix-Bollaert, Lens
3 PM ET (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT)

Match Background:

I’m sure many of you recall the drama surrounding Lens the last couple of years. A few seasons back, they were a hairsbreadth from qualifying for the Champions League. When they didn’t, Francis Gillot, their manager at the time resigned, which then prompted Guy Roux to take over the following season, except he left after he brought the club to the relegation zone. Then another manager – French footballing great Jean-Pierre Papin – took over and tried to change the club’s fortunes around, but by then, Lens was stuck in a rut and unable to get out. However, Lens got a new coach after their relegation, and unsurprisingly, they ended last season as L2 champions.

So far, Lens seems more stable than the past few years, and while their performances have fluctuated, it doesn’t look like they have to worry about dropping into the danger zone. At least not yet – the season is still young, after all. But if you’re like me, you’ll be crossing your fingers and praying that Lens survives in L1, because let’s face it, the topflight isn’t nearly as fun without Le Sang et Or.

Like all relegated clubs, Lens suffered a significant squad turnover, with players having left for both sporting and financial reasons. However, there are some familiar names, including Vedran Runje, Issam Jemaa, Toifilou Maoulida, and Kanga Akale. And while Lens might lack the big name players of the other major L1 teams, I’ve heard only good things about Yohan Demont and Kevin Monnet-Paquet, who is supposedly on the list of clubs like Fiorentina.

Currently, Lens are in 13th place, with eight points. Of the seven league games so far, they’ve won two, drawn two, and lost three. They’ve scored 8 goals and conceded 12. Their morale might also be a bit down – they had a demoralized 3-0 loss to Le Mans last weekend, but then again, they might be even more determined to make up for the embarrassment. Lens also have a fully fit squad, so their manager will undoubtedly be putting out his strongest team. Also keep in mind that this is the second time Lyon will be facing Lens this season – the two teams met in a friendly back in July, a game which ended 2-2.

Team News:

Unlike Lens, I can’t even remember the last time Lyon had a fully fit squad. Even during the pre-season, someone was suffering some form of brokenness. In fact, have Lyon ever been fully fit? Raise your hand if you know the answer. Anyway, no new updates. Cleber Anderson will be out until late winter, Mathieu Bodmer and Jean-Alain Boumsong are still having never-ending groin problems, while Lyon’s pair of Argentines, Cesar Delgado and Lisandro Lopez, are also plagued by various muscle problems. Jean II Makoun is absent due to personal reasons (his father passed away earlier this week, so he is in Cameroon for the funeral).

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre, Cris, Seguin, Réveillère, Clerc, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan, Källström, Gonalons, Pjanic, Bastos, Ederson, Grenier, Govou, Belfodil, Tafer, Gomis.

The good news is that Michel Bastos is back in the squad. There were some concerns with Miralem Pjanic and Aly Cissokho, both of whom had to be subbed off early during the game against Debrecen due to muscle pain, but they’ve shaken it off now and are back to normal. Puel is once again bringing along a bunch of kids to compensate for all the absences. This time, Nicolas Seguin joins fellow kiddies Yannis Tafer, Maxime Gonalons, Ishak Belfodil, Clement Grenier, and Timothee Kolodziejczak.

Expected Lineup:

Break out the lulz. Because really, what else can you do when you realize that you have only one Jeremy Toulalan to play in two positions?

Lloris
Reveillere – Cris – Toulalan – Cissokho
Pjanic – Gonalons – Kallstrom
Govou – Gomis – Bastos

It is possible to see Francois Clerc at RB instead, but Puel might feel more secure at having Anthony Reveillere in order to compensate for the defensive weaknesses elsewhere. Even more unlikely is Nicolas Seguin starting at CB next to Cris because A)he’s really a fullback by trade, B)he has zero first team experience, and C)the team is better off with Jeremy Toulalan as CB and Maxime Gonalons at DM than they would be with Seguin at CB and Toulalan at DM.

Which brings us to midfield. At least Gonalons has some (okay, well just a tiny bit) experience, and with Kim Kallstrom playing beside him (in a hopefully more defensive role than he usually plays) and with Toulalan behind him, I think he’ll do okay. I also expect Miralem Pjanic to start although I hope he doesn’t – he’s young, and playing every three days might wear him out before we even reach the halfway point of our season. Better to let him rest (especially because he’s been called up by Bosnia for international week) and let Ederson play instead.

Up front, I’m guess Puel will start Michel Bastos. While he is coming back from injury, it’s been awhile since he’s played, and he’ll have to regain match fitness before facing Liverpool. He’s not an international player, so he won’t get the opportunity in the next two weeks. Also, Puel wouldn’t have allowed him to come along if he weren’t fully fit – this is Lens, not Liverpool, and Puel has other players at his disposal to cover Bastos’s absence. Bafetimbi Gomis and Sidney Govou are foregone conclusions.

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Expected Result:

Lens are at home, so they’ll probably get a goal. But I expect Lyon to outscore them. Something along the lines of 2-1 seems reasonable to me.