Lyon vs. Metz

By: Inara | February 23rd, 2008

This was supposed to be posted last night, not a mere hour before the game. But that’s what happens when you forget to edit the timestamps on the posts.

Today’s match is what French media is calling “Goliath vs. David,” and they are right. I don’t know any other pair of teams that could be more disparate. Lyon is currently roosting at the top of L1 (though Bordeaux is only a point away) while Metz are in last place and already look like they can’t escape a drop back to L2. Last September, Karim Benzema scored a hat trick against Metz, so here’s hoping for a repeat.

February 23, 2008
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
2 PM Eastern Time (20:00 CET, 19:00 GMT)

Match background:

A total of 37 points separate Lyon and Metz. Lyon have notched 15 wins this season, along with 48 goals and conceding 24. Metz have won only two games, have scored 14 goals but allowed in 44. The difference in goal differential between the two teams is 58. Just crazy, right?

Metz’s top scorer is Momar NDiaye, who has three goals to his name so far this season. Beyond that, I don’t have much to say about Metz (but Laurie loves them). They don’t have any players that particularly stand out and could probably be classified as a team that doesn’t really belong in the top flight. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Metz are the whipping boys of Ligue 1. If you want to know some more about Metz, read Sam’s pre-season preview here.

Lyon on the other hand boast such a wide array of talent (compared to essentially the rest of France) that this game should theoretically be a walk in the park. But Lyon seem to be struggling against “easy” teams these days, so who knows. But Lyon is only one point ahead of Bordeaux, and even a draw tonight will drop them into second place, assuming Bordeaux beat Lille tomorrow.

Lyon info:

Maybe one day I’ll have something positive to report here. The biggest news is that both Fabio Grosso and Cris have been dropped this weekend. Grosso received a knock to his knee and will probably be out one week. Cris is suffering from inflammation of his right “ischio-jambiers.”

Le groupe lyonnais: Coupet, Vercoutre, Clerc, Réveillère, Squillaci, Boumsong, Bodmer, Beynié, Toulalan, Juninho, Källström, Delgado, Mounier, Ben Arfa, Govou, Keita, Fred, Benzema

Marc Crosas is suspended because last weekend, during a reserve game against Raon, he was expelled from the match after receiving two yellow cards. Geez. He would have gotten in some minutes this weekend.

Expected lineup:

Well, I was hoping that Cris could play. He needs to regain match fitness if he wants a shot at playing in Manchester. But it’s looking unlikely now. Also, with Marc Crosas suspended, that means at least one midfielder needing rest will have to play. My guess is that had Crosas been available, Kim Kallstrom would have been rested. He’s played more minutes than any other player this season.

Coupet
Clerc – Squillaci – Boumsong – Reveillere
Bodmer – Toulalan – Kallstrom
Keita – Fred – Ben Arfa

Is it just me, or does it seem like we never have enough defenders available? I mean, when one finally gets healthy, another one gets injured. I feel like we have the bare minimum, and that’s it. We don’t even have enough for rotation! Anyway, with Fabio Grosso out, and with no other LBs available, it falls to Anthony Reveillere to shift over to the left. I had wanted Sebastien Squillaci to take a breather, but Cris can’t play, so he has to play.

In midfield, I imagine that Juninho would be the one given rest, especially since he’s still recovering from his broken toe. Either that, or Kallstrom will start on the bench and come on for Juninho later. Mathieu Bodmer should start since he plays the least out of our main midfielders.

Up front, both Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou deserve a rest. Fred needs a start, as does Kader Keita, who has to confirm his wonder performances at the African Cup of Nations. If the game is going well, expect Cesar Delgado to get a cameo as well.

Viewing options:

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 2-0. I can’t see Lyon conceding, but the players are tired, so don’t expect a blow out either.