The Clash of the Olympiques (Lyon vs. Marseille)

By: Inara | November 10th, 2007

After a heart pounding week of Champions League action for both Lyon and Marseille, they will now face each other in a clash of the giants. Though both teams are sitting at opposite ends of the domestic table, don’t expect this weekend’s match to be a predictable affair.

Also check out the Marseille Offside. Massaer will have pertinent OM information.

Sunday, November 11th, 2007
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
3 PM Eastern Time (21:00 in France)

Obligatory pre-match sniping:

You know when two people hate each other so much that they love each other? That basically sums up the relationship between Jean-Michel Aulas and his frienemy, Marseille president Pape Diouf. It’s tradition that before their teams meet up, Aulas and Diouf trash talk each other. Honestly, these two can make Raymond Domenech sound like a politically correct angel.

This time, it was Aulas who threw the first stone when in an interview he said this little gem:

“I got out a couple of press clippings from the start of the season. Marseille has the best team and has done the best recruiting. So Sunday is going to be very tough for us.”

I’m pretty sure that had Diouf rolling his eyes, and so far, he’s taken the high road with this:

“I think Jean-Michel is playing his part when he says things like that. It’s a poke in the eye to OM and to the press as well. If I understood him correctly, he was talking about the early season predictions that OM could take on OL. We know Jean-Michel Aulas and his way of doing things. When he prepares for the match against OL in this way, it’s definitely true to character. We’ll travel there this weekend end without taking any notice of his comments.”

But normally Diouf saves his rants and tirades for after the match. So if you’re desperate for your fix of Dioufisms, I wouldn’t worry. Diouf always has something to say after a Lyon-Marseille match.

Frienemies For Forevah!

God I love these two. French football would be so boring without them. Oh, I should also mention that in an interview this morning, Karim Benzema said the following:

“[Samir Nasri] hopes that we play together one day. He can come to Lyon if he wants to. For me personally, I’m in Lyon, in the best club in France and one of the best in Europe. If he comes to Lyon, that would be great. He is a good player and I get along with him.”

I’m pretty sure Benzema said that innocently (because the only two ways you’ll ever see them play together is for France or for Real Madrid), but do you think Diouf will accuse him of attempting to destabilize Nasri like Aulas did with Franck Ribery the year before?

Match background:

Before the season started, Marseille were not only expected to be Lyon’s main challengers but also widely favored to win the title. After a summer of intensive recruitment, where they brought in several experienced players (Benoit Cheyrou, Karim Ziani, Gael Givet, Boudewijn Zenden, and Djibril Cisse’s permanently), Marseille began to mold a squad that could challenge for the title. Coupled with the new players, Marseille also boast Samir Nasri in midfield, Mahamadou Niang in attack, and Taye Taiwo in defense.

However, Marseille also lost key players who weren’t adequately replaced, including Mickael Pagis, Franck Ribery, and most importantly, Habib Beye. Still, despite the departures, Marseille looked to be a genuine threat this year.

Which is why I’m baffled at seeing Marseille sitting in 19th place on the L1 table. Nothing has gone right for them this season, and after twelve games this season, Marseille have yet to break into the top ten. Compared to Lyon’s 29 league goals scored and 12 conceded, Marseille have scored only 9 and conceded 15. Check out other relevant stats on the LFP’s website.

However, they’ve been doing fairly well in Europe and have a good chance at qualifying for the round of 16 in the Champions League, so obviously it’s not a question of the quality of their manpower. Maybe someone should send them horseshoes and four leaf clovers in a care package. Just a thought.

I suppose you could say that the last thing Marseille need as they struggle to leave the relegation zone is a trip to Lyon, but don’t be too sure. Lyon spent the last two months playing with inhuman tenacity as they won their last seven games in all competitions and remain unbeaten in the league since August 18th. Lyon’s most recent game against Stuttgart was particularly grueling, and it was apparent that at the end of the match, the players were exhausted. In fact, they were so tired that they probably had to be rolled out of the stadium on wheelchairs.

Last year, Marseille left the Gerland with a 1-1 draw (though they lost 4-1 to Lyon at the Velodrome) and will be looking to at least match last year’s result. Judging from quotes on the OM website, the players seem eager to play open, attacking football with Lyon because let’s face it, a lot of teams in L1 play defensively against the bigger teams. I’m actually expecting Marseille to be more motivated because frankly, they need the three points more than Lyon need even one point.

This picture is framed on my bedside table.

This match will also feature some interesting events. First of all, this will be Juninho’s 200th league appearance for Lyon as well as Samir Nasri’s 100th for Marseille. Speaking of Nasri, he may have the opportunity play against his buddies, Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa. All three are future French superstarz, so it’s quite possible that the Real Madrid/Arsenal/Inter Milan scouts in the audience might orgasm several times during the game.

Sunday will also be a special day for Alain Perrin, who coached Marseille in 2003-2004. He was sacked midyear, though he came back to haunt them last year as his Sochaux team won the French Cup at the expense of Marseille. This year, Perrin has already notched two victories with Lyon against Sochaux and will be looking to continue his streak of getting revenge on his former teams.

Lyon info:

Like I said earlier, Lyon have overextended themselves and are probably not ready to face Marseille. Of course Patrick Muller won’t be available (he’ll be playing with the reserves this Saturday), and who knows if Anderson will be allowed to play or not.

Jeremy Toulalan is still out, and apparently Karim Benzema is uncertain. During the Stuttgart match, he suffered cramps to his right thigh (Benzema’s thighs are cursed, I tell you), and Perrin will wait until Saturday morning before deciding if he will include Benzema in the squad. Same goes for Fabio Grosso and Hatem Ben Arfa, who are also uncertain and will have to wait until tomorrow morning to determine their match fitness.

Good? news is that Milan Baros will be available again.

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Roux, Grosso, Belhadj, Squillaci, Anderson, Clerc, Réveillère, Bodmer, Källström, Juninho, Santos, Govou, Keita, Ben Arfa, Fred, Baros, Benzema.

I will update the squad list once Perrin posts his group. If Ben Arfa, Benzema, Anderson, or Grosso aren’t cleared to play, expect to see them replaced with tykes Loic Remy, Anthony Mounier (I hope!), or Michael Charvet. Unfortunately, Sandy Paillot, one of Corey’s favorite players, injured his hip two weeks ago.

Update: Benzema, Ben Arfa, and Grosso have been cleared to play. Anderson as well. So none of the reserves will be tacked onto the squad.

Expected lineup:

Vercoutre
Clerc - Squillaci - Anderson - Belhadj
Bodmer - Fabio Santos - Juninho
Keita - Fred - Govou

The simple law of squad rotation says that Francois Clerc gets time while Anthony Reveillere takes a breather - at Lyon, right back is the one position that gets constant rotation. If Anderson isn’t allowed to play, we’ll end up seeing Mathieu Bodmer take that dreaded CB spot next to Sebastien Squillaci.

If Grosso doesn’t play, Nadir Belhadj will get some much needed time on the pitch. If Grosso is fit, we might see Nadir Belhadj take Sidney Govou’s spot. Fred and Kader Keita are sure to start, and if everything works out, then Lyon’s awesome trio of Govou-Benzema-Ben Arfa (GBB) can relax because they have been steamrolling Lyon’s campaign for the past two months. If Perrin plays GBB despite having other players available, he needs to be arrested on human rights violations.

Oh, and maybe that Baros guy might get some minutes. But it depends on whether Marseille show up on Sunday. If Marseille walk all over Lyon, Perrin might have to haul Benzema out of a sickbed to score some goals.

Viewing Info:

Setanta, baby! I’ll be watching a good quality game that features English commentators. What a luxury. For those of you who don’t have Setanta, you can see if there are streams posted here. I will do my best to post relevant match links on Sunday afternoon as well.

Expected Result:

Who the hell cares. I just want to see some good football!