MX23RW : Friday, March 29 10:53:10| >> :120:14553:14553:
[monks data]
Lyon
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 6
Oct 4, 2020 at 8pm UK
Stade de Gerland
Marseille

Lyon
1 - 1
Marseille

Aouar (28' pen.)
Guimaraes (86')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Payet (16')
Caleta-Car (4'), Bamba (45+4')
Payet (19')

Preview: Lyon vs. Marseille - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Lyon and Marseille, including team news and predicted lineups.

Two Ligue 1 giants looking to get back to winning ways will lock horns in the Olympico as Lyon welcome Marseille to the Groupama Stadium for Sunday evening's mouthwatering showdown.

Both sides took a point from their most recent fixtures, with Lorient holding Lyon to a 1-1 draw while Marseille's game with Metz finished with the same scoreline.


Match preview

Lyon manager Rudi Garcia pictured on November 5, 2019© Reuters

With no European football to juggle with domestic commitments this time around, Lyon have been provided with the perfect opportunity to focus on the Ligue 1 season and pave the way for a return to the top four and the Champions League.

However, Rudi Garcia's men have endured a truly underwhelming start to the campaign and have not tasted victory since their 4-1 thrashing of Dijon in their first outing of the campaign, with Lyon drawing three of their last four games.

Lorient looked set to take all three points against Lyon in their clash with Les Gones in gameweek five, but Leo Dubois cancelled out Yoane Wissa's opener as Garcia's blushes were temporarily spared once again.

Nevertheless, the Lyon manager will be aware that this form cannot be allowed to continue if Les Gones are to mount a charge for Champions League qualification, and the end of the transfer window cannot come soon enough for a Lyon side who are seeing a number of their most prized assets being linked with moves elsewhere.

Should Lyon manage to keep hold of Arsenal target Houssem Aouar and Barcelona-linked Memphis Depay, there can be no excuses for a side of their calibre not to finish in the top four despite the widespread speculation surrounding the futures of some of their stars.

Andre Villas-Boas in charge of Marseille on February 8, 2020© Reuters

Meanwhile, Marseille began their season strongly with two victories over Brest and Paris Saint-Germain, but Les Olympiens have since tailed off and can boast just eight points from five games in the new season.

Indeed, Andre Villas-Boas has witnessed his side scrape two 1-1 draws with Lille and Metz over the last couple of weeks, and Marseille have since slipped to ninth in the table ahead of Sunday's Olympico.

With six goals scored and conceded at this early stage of the season, Marseille are the only team in the division with a neutral goal difference heading into gameweek six, although striker Dario Benedetto is yet to open his account for the campaign.

Les Olympiens were seconds away from falling to defeat against a struggling Metz side following Ibrahima Niane's opener, and it took a Morgan Sanson strike five minutes into added time for Villas-Boas's side to come away with a share of the spoils.

Marseille will not feel all that optimistic about their chances of prevailing in this weekend's derby either - Les Olympiens have not won a league game at Lyon since the 2007-08 campaign, and Les Gones have won four of the last five Ligue 1 clashes with their Olympique rivals.

Lyon Ligue 1 form: WDLDD

Marseille Ligue 1 form: WWLDD


Team News

Lyon's Memphis Depay pictured in August 2020© Reuters

Depay was only named on the bench for Lyon's draw with Lorient but will be expected to come back into the frame for the visit of Marseille, potentially leading Garcia to switch back to a four-man defence.

A change in formation would most likely see Melvin Bard recalled to the side at left-back, with 19-year-old Sinaly Diomande at risk of dropping down to the bench.

Wantaway midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide is sidelined with a muscular injury, while Karl Toko Ekambi and Maxence Caqueret are both doubts after missing out last weekend.

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas will be welcoming Jordan Amavi back to the squad after the left-back served a three-game suspension, and Amavi is expected to replace Yuto Nagatomo for Sunday's trip to the Groupama Stadium.

Defender Alvaro Gonzalez is to face no disciplinary action following allegations of racist comments directed towards Neymar, and the Spaniard will continue to line up alongside Duje Caleta-Car in defence.

Nemanja Radonjic bagged the assist for Sanson's equaliser against Metz, but Villas-Boas will most likely keep faith in the front three of Benedetto, Dimitri Payet and Florian Thauvin.

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Dubois, Denayer, Marcelo, Bard; Mendes, Aouar, Guimaraes; Cherki, Dembele, Depay

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Sakai, Gonzalez, Caleta-Car, Bard; Kamara, Sanson, Rongier; Thauvin, Benedetto, Payet


SM words green background

We say: Lyon 1-1 Marseille

While a clash between Lyon and Marseille will have fans licking their lips at the prospect of an enticing showdown between two of France's most celebrated teams, neither side is heading into the game on a good run of form. Lyon are struggling to find the back of the net despite the attacking firepower at their disposal, but Marseille's record in front of goal also leaves a lot to be desired, so we expect this derby to finish all square.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data

ID:416885: cacheID:416885:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10362:

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lyon win with a probability of 46.53%. A win for Marseille had a probability of 27.97% and a draw had a probability of 25.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Lyon win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.24%) and 2-0 (8.24%). The likeliest Marseille win was 0-1 (7.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.12%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.1% likelihood.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar clashes with Marseille's Alvaro Gonzalez on September 13, 2020
Read Next:
European roundup: Neymar one of five sent off as Marseille win at PSG
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG26178162233959
2Brest26138536201647
3MonacoMonaco26137647361146
4Lille261110537231443
5Nice2612772720743
6Lens2612683527842
7Marseille26109740281239
8Rennes2610974031939
9Reims26115103435-138
10Lyon26104123040-1034
11Toulouse2678112936-729
12StrasbourgStrasbourg2678112839-1129
13Le HavreLe Havre2669112633-727
14Montpellier HSCMontpellier2669113140-926
15Lorient2668123549-1426
16NantesNantes2674152441-1725
17Metz2665152339-1623
18Clermont2648141943-2420


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!