Monaco and Lyon meet in the first match of the new season of Ligue 1. The match will be played on Friday, from 19:45, on Stade Louis II.
The new season in France faces two formations that ended the previous season at opposite poles, Monaco in 17th position, just two points ahead of the relegation places. On the other side, Lyon finished on the last place on the podium, just 3 points behind Lille and 19 PSG, with a record of 21 wins, 9 draws and 8 defeats, being the second best team from the championship in terms of travel, after the champion.
The last direct match was played on Stade Louis II, in the championship, when the hosts won with a score of 2-0;
Monaco won the last two games played at home (2-0 and 3-2), a series that interrupted a row of four matches in a row without victory on its own ground;
Zero draws were recorded in the last eight direct confrontations, and in seven of them were scored at least three goals;
Leonardo Jardim’s team looked good in the last four preparatory matches, winning with the same score duels with Valencia, FC Porto and Sampdoria, 1-0, drawing with Braga, score 0-0. However, this series came after one of three consecutive defeats, 0-1 with Everton, 1-2 with Lausanne and 0-5 with Lokeren.
On the other side, Lyon can not boast of a very successful training period, with four defeats and one victory, with at least three goals scored in each match.
Radamel Falcao, the captain of the hosts, is in negotiations with other teams, after his current team did not offer him a contract extension, but he is expected to evolve in the dispute on Friday. The Lyons lost their captain this summer, Nabil Fekir being transferred to La Liga, at Betis Sevilla.
The friendly games of Monaco did not offer many goals, but if we observe the low quality of the defensive game provided by the guests, we can expect a duel with many changes to the table. Lyon cannot play on par, they are set on attack precisely because of the lack of security they offer defensively. Under these conditions, we can expect a season start in league 1 where the goals are not missing.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1,68
