Lyon and Monaco will be looking to enhance their respective bids for European football when they do battle at Groupama Stadium on Friday evening.
Sitting four points outside the top five with three matches remaining, Lyon will be eager to close the gap on Monaco, who occupy fourth place in the Ligue 1 table.
Match preview
© Reuters
A fortnight ago, Lyon came from 4-1 down to clinch a remarkable 5-4 victory over Montpellier on home soil, with Alexandre Lacazette scoring four goals – including a 100th-minute penalty – to secure a memorable win for his side.
Having given everything to overcome Montpellier HSC, it was always going to be difficult for Les Gones to replicate that performance against Clermont last weekend, and the visitors ended up suffering a 2-1 defeat at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied.
Still, Laurent Blanc's men can take confidence from their recent run, which has seen them pick up five victories in seven matches, with wins over Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes, Toulouse and Strasbourg preceding the triumph against Montpellier.
When you look at the bigger picture, Lyon have lost just two of their last 11 league games, with three defeats coming in their previous 16, so they will be confident of breaking into the European places before the season ends.
Given the nine-point gap between OL and fourth-placed Monaco, the Europa Conference League appears to be the most likely destination, but Blanc's men will be content with any form of European football after finishing eighth last term.
© Reuters
On the topic of European football, Monaco looked destined to clinch a Champions League berth when they posted a run of seven victories in nine matches after the World Cup break, enjoying an unbeaten streak in Ligue 1 between late December and mid-February.
However, the Monegasques have struggled for consistency since then, recording four wins, three draws and four losses across their previous 11 league outings, including heavy defeats to Lens and Montpellier at the end of last month.
After losing 3-0 at Lens, Philippe Clement's side suffered a 4-0 thrashing to Montpellier on home soil, although they managed to return to winning ways with a narrow 2-1 victory at already-relegated Angers, despite seeing 39% possession at Stade Raymond Kopa.
Les Rouge et Blanc head into Friday's showdown on the back of a goalless draw against Lille, with Clement's men managing a solitary attempt on target last weekend, underlining the fact that Monaco have scored just once in their last four matches.
That said, the Monegasques have enjoyed plenty of success on the road this season, losing only two of their 17 away league games while collecting 10 wins, so the visitors will back themselves to pick up a positive result at Groupama Stadium.
Team News
© Reuters
Lyon look set to be without key forward Bradley Barcola on Friday after the 20-year-old missed last weekend's defeat at Clermont, while veteran defender Jerome Boateng remains sidelined due to a muscle injury.
Having chalked up four goals and five assists in his last nine appearances – including a hat-trick of assists against Montpellier – Barcola will be a big miss for the hosts, with Amin Sarr and Rayan Cherki expected to join Alexandre Lacazette in attack.
Lacazette has netted 11 goals across the past nine games, taking his tally for the season to 29 goals in 36 matches across all competitions, so the OL captain will fancy his chances of enhancing his tally on Friday.
Elsewhere, former Bayern Munich midfielder Corentin Tolisso will continue to operate in the engine room, with Castello Lukeba, Dejan Lovren and Sinaly Diomande expected to occupy the centre-back spots.
As for Monaco, Chelsea loanee Malang Sarr has been sidelined with a groin injury since March, while midfielder Mohamed Camara is also likely to be absent from Friday's squad after missing the goalless draw with Lille.
Dutch forward Myron Boadu will continue to lead the line for the visitors, with Takumi Minamino, Aleksandr Golovin and Ismail Jakobs offering attacking support to the lone striker.
At the opposite end of the pitch, on-loan Bayern Munich goalkeeper Alexander Nubel will continue between the sticks, while Axel Disasi and Chrislain Matsima look set to resume their partnership at centre-back.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Diomande, Lovren, Lukeba; Gusto, Caqueret, Tolisso, Tagliafico; Cherki; Sarr, Lacazette
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vanderson, Disasi, Matsima, Henrique; Fofana, Matazo; Minamino, Golovin, Jakobs; Boadu
We say: Lyon 2-2 Monaco
When you assess Lyon and Monaco's recent results, all the signs point towards an entertaining encounter at Groupama Stadium, so we expect the two European chasers to play out a high-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
