Grenoble have a chance to make the semi-finals of the Coupe de France for only the second time in club history when they face Lyon at Groupama Stadium on Tuesday.
OL are at this stage of the competition for the fifth time in the last six campaigns, defeating Lille on penalties in the previous round, while GF38 are one of three Ligue 2 sides remaining after they got past Vierzon FC 1-0.
Match preview
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In a domestic campaign filled with inconsistencies for the former seven-time Ligue 1 champions, Lyon have put together another solid run in the Coupe de France.
Over their past two encounters in this competition, Lyon have been flying out of the gate, scoring four times in the opening half, though they squandered a 2-0 lead versus Lille before ultimately keeping their nerve in the penalty shootout.
Since Laurent Blanc took charge, Les Gones have struggled to maintain an advantage, losing twice in nine domestic affairs when scoring first, with the last one coming at home to Auxerre earlier this month (2-1).
They bounced back this past weekend with a 3-1 triumph at Angers, the fourth time in February that Lyon have netted multiple times in a match.
It has been over nine years since Lyon lost a Coupe de France fixture versus a Ligue 2 opponent, when Lens defeated them 2-1 in the round of 16 back in February 2014.
Historically, they have only lost once to Grenoble in any competitive fixture, outscoring them 9-0 in two previous encounters at the Coupe de France.
Lyon have triumphed in four of their last five home matches at this tournament, with their previous defeat coming at this stage of the 2020-21 season, when Monaco blanked them 2-0.
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The highly organised and composed backline of Grenoble has them on the verge of making it to the final four of this tournament for the first time in over 13 years.
The team from the French Alps have not conceded in their last four matches at the Coupe de France, though so far they have only faced one side in their same division or above, beating Nimes 1-0.
On Tuesday, they will meet a Ligue 1 opponent in this competition for the first time since losing 1-0 to Monaco in February 2021.
The last time Grenoble were in the quarter-finals of this tournament, they managed a 2-0 victory over Les Monegasques in March 2009.
Vincent Hognon took over a team in danger of relegation from the second tier of French football a season ago, and at the moment, his side are in contention to return to Ligue 1, six points behind Sochaux for second.
GF38 have lost just one of their last six matches away from home this year in all competitions, posting seven clean sheets in 2023, including a 0-0 draw versus the league leaders Le Havre on Saturday.
It has been nearly 60 years since Grenoble found the back of the net when visiting Lyon, beating them by a 1-0 score in March 1963.
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Team News
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Lyon could be missing some critical components to their squad for this encounter as leading goalscorer Alexandre Lacazette has a sore thigh, Malo Gusto is dealing with a hamstring strain, Corentin Tolisso remains sidelined because of a calf issue, Houssem Aouar recently suffered a knock and Jerome Boateng will be a few weeks away from returning from an unknown injury.
On Saturday, Thiago Mendes and Amin Sarr each scored, while Bradley Barcola netted for the first time in his Ligue 1 career as Anthony Lopes only had to make two stops in their victory over Angers.
Lopes was the hero for Lyon in the round of 16 of this competition, stopping Mohamed Bayo from the penalty spot, while Tolisso, Moussa Dembele, Maxence Caqueret and Dejan Lovren all converted their kicks, helping them advance into the last eight.
We saw five new faces in the Grenoble starting 11 this past weekend, with Allan Tchaptchet, Jordy Gaspar, Axel Ngando, Abdoulie Sanyang and Amine Sbai replacing Loic Nestor, Loris Nery, Matthias Phaeton, Saikou Touray and Pape Meissa Ba.
Reserve goalkeeper Esteban Salles has not conceded in four straight matches in this competition, while Jordan Tell has scored three goals, all of which came in their 4-1 victory in the seventh round last October.
First-choice keeper and captain Brice Maubleu has six domestic clean sheets away from home this season, while Phaeton leads them with six strikes, one more than Sanyang.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Kumbedi, Diomande, Lovren, Henrique; Caqueret, Mendes, Lepenant; Cherki; Barcola, Dembele
Grenoble possible starting lineup:
Maubleu; Gaspar, Monfray, Nestor, Nery; Bambock; Tell, Touray, Benet, Phaeton; Sanyang
We say: Lyon 0-0 Grenoble (Lyon advances on penalties)
If Lacazette is unavailable, Grenoble might have an easier time containing the Lyon attack. However, the experience of OL in these big matches has us leaning towards them to keep their cool in pressure situations and eventually prevail.
As good as this run has been for Grenoble, they have not faced a side who are at the level of Olympique Lyonnais, so despite how well organised they have been defensively, we do not expect them to create many chances in possession.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
