Lyon vs. Nice

Sorry that this match preview is so late, but I’ve been on vacation for the last two weeks, and John, who has kindly been covering in my absence, is traveling as well. So this is going to be a little shorter than normal.

This is the fifth game of the season, and Lyon and Marseille are still tied for first place, with Marseille ahead due to more goals scored. So not only does every point matter, but every goal as well.

Match Background:

Nice have an absurdly good record against Lyon in recent years. Last season, they were the only team, both domestically and in Europe, not to concede a single goal to Lyon. Unfortunately for Nice, they lost their three best players in the offseason, with Bakary Kone heading to Marseille and with Hugo Lloris and his BFF Ederson signing for Lyon. Nice are also only one point off of Lyon, and if things go well for them, they could see themselves in first place.

Still, they’ve got a good array of players. Cyril Rool is still bossing things in the back, Olivier Echouafni in midfield, and Chaoki Ben Saada (who is Nice’s new #10). And of course, the very familiar Loic Remy is spearheading things up front. Remy has been having a great season so far, with two goals in the last four matches. He’ll be wanting to show Lyon what a mistake they made in letting him leave. Martha has more over at the Nice Offside.

As for Lyon, goals have been rather scare, and of the six goals scored so far this season, they came from only two players - Karim Benzema with four and Jean II Makoun with two. That means that the team still isn’t comfortable attacking together, though that is partially due to the number of injuries in the backline, which has everyone playing cautiously.

All in all, this will be a special match for several people. Both Lloris and Ederson will be facing the team they just left three months ago while Remy will be coming back to the club where he started from. I expect fireworks!

Lyon info:

Guh. More injuries to report. Not only is Francois Clerc out with a torn ligament, Kader Keita out with his arm problem, and Fabio Santos out because of a broken cheekbone, but Fabio Grosso has joined them in the hospital as well with two cracked ribs.

Good news is that John Mensah, Fred, and Cris have been deemed healthy enough to be included in the list of players.

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre – Réveillère, Cris, Bodmer, Boumsong, Mensah, Kolo, Toulalan, Juninho, Källström, Makoun, Delgado, Mounier, Benzema, Fred, Piquionne, Ederson, Govou, Pjanic

Besides Thimothée Kolodziecziak, none of the other kids were included (since Anthony Mounier is no longer a kid). Also, am I the only one who finds it amusing that even Lyon’s website staff have gotten tired of writing out Kolodziecziak and now just refer to him as Kolo?

Expected Actual Lineup:

Lloris
Reveillere – Cris – Mensah – Kallstrom
Bodmer – Makoun – Juninho
Ederson – Fred – Mounier

Besides Anthony Reveillere, the rest of the back four isn’t reassuring at all. Both Cris and John Mensah have been out for several weeks – in fact, this is Mensah’s debut. Kim Kallstrom is deputizing for LB, though I had been expecting Jean-Alain Boumsong there instead.

In midfield, it looks like Puel is giving Jeremy Toulalan a much needed rest after his hard work during international week. It’s rest he’ll need because a very tough game against Fiorentina is around the corner. Instead, we see the return of Mathieu Bodmer to midfield. Wow. Juninho also gets the start.

Up front is also different. Ederson has been switched to the right in order to accommodate Anthony Mounier, his first start ever in an official OL match. And Fred, everyone’s favorite lazy Brazilian, who’s been out for several weeks as well, will be starting in place of Karim Benzema, who is also being rested for the CL match.

Viewing options:

None really. If you are one of the lucky few that have TV5, they’ll be broadcasting the game. The only link I could find was one for TVants. If you guys come across any, please post in the comments!

Expected Result:

I’ll be cautious – another 1-0 win.

Some Related Lyon Posts:

Category: Team News and Rumors