Two giants of the French game will collide on Sunday evening as Lyon welcome Monaco to the Groupama Stadium for gameweek eight of the 2020-21 Ligue 1 campaign.
The hosts managed to return to winning ways with a narrow 3-2 victory against Strasbourg last time out, whereas Monaco were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Montpellier.
Match preview
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The Lyon faithful began to get restless over the past few weeks, with Rudi Garcia's men enduring a torrid spell of form which saw them lose to Montpellier and fail to beat Lorient, Nimes and Marseille before their trip to Strasbourg.
Les Gones knew that a victory against the strugglers was of paramount importance if Lyon are to instil some confidence back into their supporters, and while Garcia's men did manage to walk away with an expected three points, their path to victory was not a comfortable one by any means.
Lyon stormed into a 3-0 lead inside the first 45 minutes thanks to an opener from Tino Kadewere and a brace from Karl Toko Ekambi, and despite Strasbourg's Habib Diallo and Jean-Eudes Aholou both notching up goals to set up a nervy finale, Les Gones held on for just their second victory of the campaign.
Having managed to end a dampening winless run, Lyon will no doubt look to use that motivation to obtain positive results from three challenging fixtures against Monaco, Lille and Saint-Etienne within the next few weeks, and Garcia should not have to deal with as much of a depleted squad as he did last weekend.
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Speaking of depleted squads, it appeared for a brief moment that Monaco would be facing a makeshift Montpellier outfit following an announcement that eight Paillade players had tested positive for coronavirus.
However, further tests revealed that only one athlete in Pedro Mendes was indeed positive and any hopes of an easy victory for Monaco were quickly dashed, with Niko Kovac's men indebted to a Wissam Ben Yedder penalty as they rescued a 1-1 draw following Stephy Mavididi's opener for Montpellier.
The stalemate last weekend means that Monaco have only managed to pick up one win from their last four ahead of Sunday's meeting with Lyon - ironically a 3-2 victory against Strasbourg - and Kovac will certainly be expecting more from his side as they push for a return to European football.
Les Monegasques have unforgiving fixtures against Bordeaux, Nice and Paris Saint-Germain to come in the month of November, though, and Monaco have only prevailed in three of their last 11 clashes with Lyon - with Les Gones storming to a 3-0 win in the solitary meeting last season.
Lyon Ligue 1 form: DLDDDW
Monaco Ligue 1 form: WWLWLD
Team News
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Lyon are set for a rejig in midfield as Bruno Guimaraes comes back into the fold following a suspension, while Maxence Caqueret is also fit again after recovering from coronavirus.
However, Garcia may have to make do without centre-back Jason Denayer, who is struggling with a muscular problem, and Maxwell Cornet is in line for another start at left-back with Melvin Bard's involvement uncertain.
Kadewere and Toko Ekambi should both keep their spots out wide for this one, meaning that there is only space for one of Memphis Depay or Moussa Dembele in the first XI, and the former is expected to get the nod.
Monaco can look forward to welcoming back a young protege of their own as Axel Disasi returns from a suspension, with Chrislain Matsima set to be demoted to the bench.
Djibril Sidibe should continue to start at left-back in the absence of the injured Fode Ballo-Toure, while Kevin Volland is at risk of losing his place on the right after lasting just 45 minutes in the draw with Montpellier.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Dubois, Diomande, Marcelo, Cornet; Aouar, Caqueret, Guimaraes; Kadewere, Depay, Ekambi
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Aguilar, Disasi, Badiashile, Sidibe; Tchouameni, Fofana, Diop; Martins, Ben Yedder, Geubbels
We say: Lyon 3-2 Monaco
Lyon supporters will be hoping that their side's narrow victory over Strasbourg is the one that turns the corner heading into the winter months, but Monaco have mistakes of their own to rectify this weekend. This mouthwatering showdown could easily go either way depending on which attacking contingent is stronger on the day, but with the hosts able to welcome back a couple more first-team regulars, we are backing Les Gones to come out on top.
