Lyon – Monaco Ligue 1: 23rd April 2017

They set the hierarchy

Olympique Lyon ranks fourth in the league’s first leg of France, with 54 points gathered in 32 rounds. Thus, Bruno Genesio’s students had a very busy period, both physically and mentally. After the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, the Lyoners had a good game with Bastia, where they were banished from the field by the impulsive fans of the hosts. As if it were not enough, the French gave a special match Thursday night in Istanbul, qualifying for the penalty shootout in the inferno on the “Vodafone Arena”. Even so, Genesio’s band will face the Ligue 1 leader and the semi-finalist UEFA Champions League this weekend, so whatever is possible in this game.

The last important hop

AS Monaco takes the lead in the Ligue 1 hierarchy and will move with a maximum moral at Lyon after the historic qualifying in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, where it will face Juventus Torino. Thus, although there is a tie in France with the second place, PSG, Monegasque have a less played match, whose final result will count a lot in the economy of the final standings. However, the Lyon game is announced to be decisive for Jardim’s band, as the rest of the championship matches will be disputed in the company of opponents in the lower half of the hierarchy.

Direct meetings:

In the last ten direct confrontations between the two bands, Lyon imposed four times, Monaco in three other rows, while three other disputes ended in a tie;

In the tour, Lyon has won the “Stade Louis II” with a score of 3-1, at the end of a match where the hosts have evolved in numerical inferiority better than a half;

In six of the last eight direct duels, both teams managed to score;

Probable teams:

Lyon (4-3-3): Lopes- Rafael, Yanga-Mbiwa, Nkoulou, Rybus-Ferri, Gonalons, Darder-Ghezzal, Cornet, Depay

Absent: Mamanna (injured)

AS Monaco (4-4-2): Subasic – Toure, Glik, Jemerson, Mendy – Silva, Fabinho, Bakayoko, Lemar – Mbappe, Germain

Abstentions: Boschilia, Carrillo, Sidibe (injured)

Conclusions & tips:

Given the circumstances of this game, we are expecting a spectacular showdown of hostilities. The main pressure will be on the shoulders of the guests and, even if we had an exhausting match no more than 72 hours ago, we think Lyon will find the resources necessary to put real problems on Jardim’s goal machine.