Bordeaux will look to maintain their strong start to the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season when they play host to Lyon at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux on Friday.
Meanwhile, Lyon kicked off their top-flight campaign in perfect fashion with a 4-1 drubbing of Dijon back in August.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having had nine days to recover from their opening day goalless stalemate with Nantes, Bordeaux marched to their first three points of the season with a 2-0 victory over Angers in the last weekend of August.
Two quickfire goals from Josh Maja and Toma Basic put Angers to the sword early on, and Bordeaux manager Jean-Louis Gasset is yet to witness his side ship a goal in the new season.
While the early season rankings are hardly ever expected to foretell the final table, Bordeaux can be encouraged by their current second-placed standing as they bid to improve on last season's 12th-placed finish.
However, Bordeaux's last four games on home soil have all ended in draws, and Gasset's side are coming up against a Lyon outfit with a point to prove following their underwhelming 2019-20 domestic campaign.
Depending on results elsewhere, Bordeaux could occupy top spot by the close of play this weekend, with current table-toppers Nice set to take on Montpellier on Saturday.
© Reuters
As far as Lyon are concerned, Les Gones were quick to put their Champions League exit behind them as they eased to a 4-1 triumph over Dijon in their first game of the season.
Memphis Depay – currently being linked with a move to Barcelona – recorded a hat-trick for Lyon at the Groupama Stadium as Rudi Garcia's side laid down a marker ahead of the rest of the campaign.
Despite reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, Les Gones will play no part in European football during the 2020-21 campaign, but that will give Garcia plenty of time to focus on Lyon's domestic exploits.
Should Les Gones carry on in the same vein as they did in their thrashing of Dijon, Garcia will no doubt be confident of securing a top-four finish if Lyon can keep hold of some of their most prized assets, namely Depay, Houssem Aouar and Moussa Dembele.
Lyon took the spoils in a 2-1 victory in this fixture last season, and Bordeaux have triumphed against Les Gones just once in their last seven meetings.
Bordeaux Ligue 1 form: DW
Lyon Ligue 1 form: W
Team News
© Reuters
Bordeaux's solitary injury concern is Pablo Castro, but Gasset has confirmed that the Brazilian defender has resumed training and is nearing a return to action.
Twenty-year-old midfielder Yacine Adli could also come back into the fold for the visit of Lyon.
Goalkeeper Benoit Costil is set to undergo a coronavirus test on Thursday following international duty with the French team, where Kylian Mbappe tested positive.
Lyon have recently waved goodbye to defender Marcal, who has joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, meaning Joachim Andersen is likely to fill the void in Garcia's back three.
Other than that, Les Gones are expected to stick with the same lineup that dispatched Dijon with ease in their first game back.
However, former Arsenal man Jeff Reine-Adelaide has voiced his desire to leave, while backup goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu is reportedly closing in on a move to AC Milan.
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Sabaly, Koscielny, Baysse, Benito; Basic, Otavio; Oudin, Preville, Hwang; Maja
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Marcelo, Denayer, Andersen; Dubois, Caqueret, Guimaraes, Cornet; Depay; Dembele, Ekambi
We say: Bordeaux 1-2 Lyon
Friday's clash has all the makings of a fascinating battle between the staunch rearguard action of Bordeaux and the attacking prowess of Lyon. In spite of the widespread speculation regarding their futures, Depay and Dembele always guarantee goals for Garcia's side, so we are backing the visitors to overcome Bordeaux's resolute defence and record a second victory on the bounce.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bordeaux win with a probability of 37.85%. A win for Lyon had a probability of 36.03% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bordeaux win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.33%) and 2-0 (6.39%). The likeliest Lyon win was 0-1 (9.25%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.41%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood.
