Lyon seek to continue their impressive Ligue 1 form when they host Reims at Groupama Stadium on Saturday night.
The gameweek 27 encounter takes place after the international break in which the home side went into with a two-match winning run, and they hope to extend it to three against a side that have secured four points from the last available six.
Match preview
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Lyon have bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Lens at the start of March to win the next two — 2-0 at Lorient and 3-2 in Toulouse — to continue their commendable run since Pierre Sage was appointed in December.
With nine wins in the French top flight since his arrival, Les Gones have outdone every other side in the division in that period, rising to 10th in the standings, having initially flirted with relegation after a wretched start to the 2023-24 campaign.
With six victories in their last seven in the league, Lyon are the undoubted favourites for Saturday's match at Groupama Stadium, keen to improve on a poor run of results against this weekend's opponent.
Les Gones' 27% win rate against Reims is the club's lowest against any opponent they have faced in Ligue 1, with the home side claiming just two victories in their last 11 — seven from 16 encounters in total.
With European qualification via a high league finish a daunting ambition as Sage's side sit eight points behind sixth-placed Lens, completely ruling out that possibility is ill-advised given the Kids' form.
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Reims' form has been indifferent since November, with Will Still's men struggling to string consecutive league wins together in the top flight.
The visitors won back-to-back matches three times between August and November but have done likewise once since the turn of the year when they beat Le Havre and Monaco — both wins sandwiching a cup success at Dinan Lehon.
Still's men have secured two wins in the following nine in all competitions since that 3-1 triumph at Stade Louis II, albeit that run included a 2-2 draw at title favourites PSG on March 10.
Following the Red and Whites' 2-1 home victories over relegation-threatened Metz before the hiatus, Reims aim for consecutive triumphs in the competition for the first time since January, and their positive head-to-head over Lyon should give the away side some confidence heading into the round 27 clash.
However, the corresponding fixture at the backend of last season ended in a 3-0 reverse, highlighting that this weekend's match is not a foregone conclusion for Still's team.
Team News
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Absent for Lyon are Clinton Mata — suspended after his third booking in 10 games before the international break — and Nottingham Forest loanee Orel Mangala, ruled out for several weeks.
Rayan Cherki is pushing for a start after scoring and assisting in the 3-2 win at Toulouse, while Alexandre Lacazette should lead the attack, keen to add to his 13 Ligue 1 goals — the Frenchman's tally is nine higher than the club's second-highest Jake O'Brien (four).
Thibault De Smet is missing for Reims through suspension, while Benjamin Stambouli (hamstring), Teddy Teuma (calf) and Maxime Busi (thigh) are not expected to feature on Saturday.
AFCON 2023 winner with Ivory Coast Oumar Diakite has netted three times and set up one in five appearances since returning from Nations Cup duty, including his last two against PSG and Metz, and the forward hopes to make a telling impact this weekend.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Maitland-Niles, O'Brien, Caleta-Car, Tagliafico; Caqueret, Matic, Tolisso; Cherki, Lacazette, Benrahma
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf, Foket, Agbadou, Abdelhamid, Koudou; Munetsi, Edoa, Khadra; Ito, Diakite, Daramy
We say: Lyon 2-1 Reims
While Reims' tendency to find the back of the net on their travels means they are expected to score in Lyon, the hosts' momentum under Sage should see them return to winning ways in front of their supporters, thus ending Les Gones' two-game run in all competitions without scoring on their turf.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
