Bourgoin-Jallieu welcome top-flight opponents Lyon to Stade Pierre Rajon on Wednesday evening for their round of 32 Coupe de France clash in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides.
The hosts booked their place in this stage with an emphatic 4-1 home triumph over second-tier Martigues, while Les Gones edged Feignies-Aulnoye 2-1 to reach this round for a second consecutive season.
Match preview
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While the scoreline suggests a comfortable victory for Bourgoin-Jallieu in their most recent French Cup outing, the key attacking statistics reveal a blend of clinical finishing and resolute defending, aided by their opponents' wastefulness.
Despite enjoying just 32% possession compared to Martigues' 68%, FCBJ registered seven shots on target, with Pierre Kohser and Celal Bozkurt both netting braces, while Mahame Siby's 23rd-minute strike for the visitors - their only success from six attempts at goal - merely softened the blow in an otherwise one-sided affair.
It has been a dominant run for Bourgoin-Jallieu in this season's competition, having dispatched St-Just St-Rambert 4-0 before following up with a 3-0 victory over Olympique de Valence in previous rounds.
However, as the saying goes, 'the higher you climb, the steeper the path' - they now face their toughest test yet against a top-flight side, who have six wins from their last eight matches across all competitions.
Bourgoin-Jallieu head into this clash following a 1-1 draw away to Espaly in the Championnat National 3, their first stalemate in nine matches, having previously recorded six wins and two defeats in that stretch.
Meanwhile, Lyon enter this encounter following a 2-1 league defeat to Brest last weekend, marking their second loss in the top flight in three games.
Their other setback in that run was a 3-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, a side that also beat them 2-1 in the French Cup final last season.
Having embarked on their journey to go one better than the previous campaign with their victory over Feignies-Aulnoye, Pierre Sage's side remain in pursuit of their first Coupe de France trophy since 2011-12 and will look to edge closer to that goal by scaling over the hosts.
This is no new feat for Lyon, who have made it past this stage in each of the last six campaigns, reaching the quarterfinals in all and progressing beyond that point four times during that period.
Les Gones have won three of their last five matches on the road across all competitions, and despite their recent setback, defeating Bourgoin-Jallieu will not be seen as a herculean task.
Team News
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Bozkurt remains the key threat, with the forward finding the net in every round of the competition so far, including a brace against Martigues that took his tally to five goals, and he is expected to lead the line once again against Lyon.
He could be joined up front by Kohser, who also struck twice in that emphatic victory, with manager Eric Guichard likely to reignite their partnership in a two-man attack for this midweek clash.
As for the visitors, Maxence Caqueret, who featured in their previous French Cup outing, remains sidelined with a thigh injury and is not expected back until late January, while Nemanja Matic is ruled out due to a viral illness.
Said Benrahma could be handed a starting berth on Wednesday, having come off the bench last weekend, and the Algerian, who scored in the win over Feignies-Aulnoye, will be keen to add to his tally in the competition.
Bourgoin-Jallieu possible starting lineup:
Ray; Mbae, Nirlo, Mendy; Moumeni, Mendy, Mecheri, Imbert; Moujetzky; Kohser, Bozkurt
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Descamps; Tagliafico, Niakhate, Mata, Kumbedi; Tolisso, Tesmann, Veretout; Mikautadze, Benrahma, Nuamah
We say: Bourgoin-Jallieu 0-2 Lyon
While the hosts have enjoyed a straightforward path to this stage of the competition, the visitors present their toughest challenge yet.
Bourgoin-Jallieu will aim to prove they are no pushovers, but they are expected to struggle against a Lyon side accustomed to progressing from this round - making an away win the likely outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adeyeye Oluwapelumi
