Lorient – Lyon Match Preview
Lorient came from a goal down to defeat Reims 3-1 last weekend, which will have eased the pressure on their shoulders before they welcome the league leaders Lyon on Sunday evening and as usual, the home side will be tactically well prepared. Lyon, on the other hand, come into this match after back-to-back draws against title rivals Monaco and PSG without Alexandre Lacazette. Olympique Lyonnais are now about to play 4 of their next 5 league matches away from home, which may be difficult for a side who appear more comfortable in front of their own fans and depending on Marseille’s and PSG’s results earlier in the weekend, the leaders might have only one result available to them in order to remain at the top of the league table. The best football predictions suggest that the visitors remain favourites for this one, but they will not face a defensive Lorient side, as Raphaël Guerrero, Romain Philippoteaux and Walid Mesloub are all technical players capable of making the difference at any moment in time.
Lorient are still without key players Yann Jouffre and Mathieu Coutadeur, but Sylvain Ripoll has found alternatives in François Bellugou and Didier Ndong. AFCON runner-up Jordan Ayew, having resumed training with his teammates on Friday, will surely have to settle for a place on the bench this weekend so if Lamine Gassama, who scored a fantastic goal at the weekend, recovers in time to feature Lorient should be unchanged. Lyon might have to be without Christophe Jallet, in addition to Milan Bisevac’s and since playmaker Steed Malbranque, sustained a knee injury in training he will need to pass a late fitness test before possibly starting from the bench on Sunday. In his absence, Yoann Gourcuff may start for the third time in a row in the number 10 behind the strike duo of Clinton N’Jie and Nabil Fekir who were efficient against PSG, in what appears to be a convincing alternative to star player Alexandre Lacazette.
Our Probable Formations:
Lorient (4.4.2) Lecomte, Gassama, Koné, Lautoa, Goff, Phillippoteaux, Bellugou, Abdullah, Guerreiro, Mesloub and Jeannot.
Lyon (4.3.1.2) Lopes, Jallet, Rose, Umtiti, Bedimo, Ferri, Gonalons, Tolisso, Gourcuff, Fekir and N’Jie.
BetAdvisor Top Tips:
Lorient have drawn their last 3 home matches against Lyon in all competitions.
Lyon are undefeated in their last 9 matches in Ligue 1.
There have been under 2.5 goals scored in Lyon’s last 4 games in Ligue 1.
Lyon have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 away matches in Ligue 1.