Nice vs. Lyon, Or It’s Time to BE CHAMPIONS

By: Inara | May 2nd, 2008

Alright, so I know attention this weekend won’t be on Lyon but on Paris (if PSG lose, they will be relegated), but let’s just pretend for a moment that the rest of France cares about OL, okay?

With only three games left to play, Lyon are currently four points ahead of Bordeaux, and a win this weekend against Nice coupled with a Bordeaux loss at Marseille will see Lyon crowned champions for the seventh consecutive season. Even a draw for Bordeaux will do since Lyon’s goal difference is far superior that it’s like having an extra point.

May 2, 2008
Municipal du Ray, Nice
11:10 AM Eastern Time (17:10 CET, 16:10 GMT)

Match background:

Nice is actually a tough team to play against. They might seem small, but they know how to work the ball and how to give a team like Lyon a hard time. They play a nice blend of physical and technical football, so you never know what to expect from them. They are currently in a run of bad form (they were previously in fourth place but poor results in recent weeks have brought them to 9th, and there is no way they can snag that UEFA Cup spot unless it’s via the Intertoto Cup.

They have a lot of talented players, one of whom will be in Lyon colors next season. Oh yes, his name is Ederson, and if you don’t know who he is yet, you need to get your eyes checked. Their goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, who I talk about nearly all the time, is also someone who I hope to see at Lyon next season. He’s going to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. I just know it. He can singlehandedly save a game and is the reason that Nice walked away with a draw in their last two encounters with Lyon. But besides those two, there is also Bakari Kone, who despite being small, is a speedy son of a bitch and can make even the staunchest of defenders dizzy. And of course they have Florent Balmont, a former Lyon player who came through the OL academy. He’s an underrated midfielder that keeps Nice’s midfield one of the more efficient ones in the league.

So far this season, Nice have the second best defense in the league after Nancy, having only conceded 28 goals. But with 30 goals scored, their attack has been far less potent. Compare that to Lyon, who have conceded 36 goals (reason #2867 we need Lloris at Lyon) have scored 70. So that’s a huge difference in firepower. Nice’s home form is so-so, with seven wins, six draws, and four losses. That’s good for Lyon, who having notched nine away wins, also have six losses (and two draws).

I suppose you could say that Nice have nothing to play for, but as we saw last weekend against Caen, teams that have nothing to play for have everything to play for. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but the teams with nothing to lose often play with more freedom and aren’t obliged to be cautious. And let’s not forget that they held Bordeaux to a draw last weekend. So Nice will be a very dangerous game, and they will be at home.

Lyon always need a win, so I’ll stop saying so. However, the result of this weekend will impact how Lyon approach their Coupe de France semifinal against Sedan next week. If Lyon draw or lose against Nice, Aulas has said that Lyon will field a reserve side against Sedan in order for them to take on Nancy three days later. The title is the absolute priority, and this season, Lyon may have to wait until the last day. Good thing they’ve been at a spa all week. They need to be as refreshed as possible for the craziness up ahead.

And in a final twist in irony, Lyon will be praying that Marseille - the only team to get six points out of Lyon this year - defeat Bordeaux or at least hold them to a draw. Marseille have to win to get a spot in next year’s Champions League, so at least they’ll be determined. And though their form is unreliable, they are more than capable of taking on Bordeaux.

Lyon info:

Great news! Jeremy Toulalan is back in the squad. He was touch and go for the past few days because of some lingering pain in his knee, but apparently he is well enough to travel with the rest of the team to Nice. That must mean he’s ready to play - Perrin wouldn’t have brought him along otherwise. Patrick Muller is also back to fitness and has been training with the senior squad. While he’s not yet ready to play this weekend, he hopes to play for the reserves the following weekend. He wants to prove to the coach of the Swiss NT that he’s fit for Euro 2008.

Le group lyonnais: Coupet, Vercoutre - Clerc, Squillaci, Boumsong, Cris, Källström, Juninho, Crosas, Bodmer, Toulalan, Govou, Keita, Benzema, Ben Arfa, Fred, Delgado, Mounier.

Oh, look, little Anthony Mounier is back in the squad. Not that he’ll be able to play with so many other wingers on the team. But it’s nice to be included, right? Fabio Grosso and Anthony Reveillere are both suspended - Grosso got a red card last weekend while Reveillere was accumulating yellows - so they’ll be watching the game from the stands. Have fun, guys.

As for Nice - Ederson will be sitting this match out. Officially it’s because he’s injured, but the real reason is that part of his loan deal is that he can’t play against Lyon. Nice couldn’t refuse that, not after Aulas paid an extra two million euros for him. This is good news for us because when he’s motivated, he is Nice’s most dangerous player, and you just know he’d be motivated against Lyon.

Expected lineup:

Coupet
Clerc - Squillaci - Cris - Kallstrom
Bodmer - Toulalan - Juninho
Keita - Fred - Benzema

If that back line looks a little weird to you, don’t worry, you aren’t the only one. Since both Grosso and Reveillere are suspended, Lyon don’t have any left backs to spare (Reveillere actually plays on the right but is versatile enough to also play on the left). Perrin had to decide between putting Jean-Alain Boumsong on the left or shifting Kim Kallstrom back. He opted for the latter, partially because we have know idea how Boumsong will do back there while Kallstrom has played at LB for a few short moments during a handful of games in the early part of the season. Yeah…Nice will just ass rape Lyon down that left side. But that’s nothing new, so whatever.

In midfield, the return of Toulalan no doubt has made the entire team happy. We’ll probably see Toulalan helping out Kallstrom defensively, so that’s a good thing. Juninho and Mathieu Bodmer should hopefully be of some use as well. But it’s hard to predict with those two.

Up front…god, I hate the way Perrin’s mind works. I just know that he’ll put Karim Benzema on the left. If he doesn’t and puts Hatem Ben Arfa there instead, I swear I’ll write a love poem about him. Another option for Perrin - though it might be too logical for him - would be to put Sidney Govou on the left, which should provide some extra defensive solidarity on that side.

Viewing options:

I’m hoping that we’ll have better options this weekend than last, when not a single working link could be found. Ay ay ay. What is this, the 20th century? Shouldn’t technology be advanced enough for us to get at least one OL stream, even if it’s in Mandarin?

Expected results:

I’m crossing my fingers for a narrow win. Perhaps a draw would be more likely, but I’m going to force myself to be optimistic. As Jao pointed out last weekend, I’m in a tough position due to my fervent admiration for Lloris. I hate seeing him concede goals, but well, Lyon need to win. So I think 2-1 is fair and wouldn’t make either team look bad.

…Okay, I’ll stop with this Lloris nonsense. I mean, it would stop if Lyon would just sign the damn boy. Then I wouldn’t need to constantly sell him.