Preview: Lorient vs Lyon - prediction, team news, lineups

Both bidding to extend their recent unbeaten runs to four matches, Lorient and Lyon square off in Sunday's Ligue 1 showdown at the Stade du Moustoir.

Les Merlus snapped their winless sequence in a 3-1 triumph at home to Nice last time out, while the visitors ran out convincing 3-0 victors over Nantes.

Match preview

While Lyon vs. Nantes was 11v11, Les Gones struggled to find a way past the Canaris backline, but a straight red card to Junior Mwanga on the cusp of the half-time whistle saw the floodgates open in the second 45.

Left-back Abner drew first blood for Lyon with his opening goal of the campaign, before Martin Satriano helped himself to a brace at the Groupama Stadium, where Paulo Fonseca's men furthered their continental ambitions.

By virtue of ending a four-match winless sequence in the French top flight, Lyon have leapfrogged Monaco and Strasbourg into sixth place in the Ligue 1 table, only adrift of Rennes on goal difference and two points worse off than Lille in fourth.

Also thumping Maccabi Tel-Aviv 6-0 in Europa League action and drawing 0-0 with Auxerre on November 23, Lyon are seeking a fourth consecutive clean sheet in all tournaments this weekend, but away days have not been their speciality of late.

Indeed, Fonseca's side have only picked up two wins from seven Ligue 1 matches on their travels this term - drawing each of their last three - and Les Gones have also incurred three red cards on the road this season already.

Lyon's away-day struggles spell optimism for a Lorient side fresh from a resounding home success, overturning a 1-0 deficit against Nice thanks to Laurent Abergel's leveller and a double from Sambou Soumano.

After going through all of October and almost the entirety of November without a single win to shout about, Les Merlus' first victory in eight matches was long overdue, and also represented just their third triumph of the 2025-26 Ligue 1 season.

Olivier Pantaloni's troops have now opened up a three-point gap to 16th-placed Nantes and 17th-placed Metz in the relegation battle, and home has been where the heart is for the hosting side all season long.

Les Merlus may be the worst-performing away team in the division, but they have collected 12 of their 14 points this season at the Stade du Moustoir, where Rennes and Monaco have also fallen to defeat this term.

However, Lyon earned a 2-0 victory during their last visit to Lorient's turf in March 2024, and Les Gones have lost just one of their last eight Ligue 1 clashes with Sunday's unfancied hosts.

Lorient Ligue 1 form:

Lyon Ligue 1 form:

Lyon form (all competitions):

Team News

The one sour note of Lyon's success over Nantes was a late injury to midfielder Tanner Tessmann, who has been ruled out of Sunday's game with that thigh concern.

To make matters worse for the visitors, Orel Mangala will not be available either due to a minor hamstring problem, joining Tessmann, Ruben Kluivert (ankle), Clinton Mata (hamstring), Rachid Ghezzal (hamstring), Ernest Nuamah (ACL) and Malick Fofana (ankle) in the treatment room.

Mangala was only a substitute in the win over Nantes anyway, but Tessmann's absence could see Ainsley Maitland-Niles shoe-horned into a right-sided centre-back role.

Lorient's victory against Nice also came at a slight cost, as centre-back Bamo Meite was withdrawn late on as a result of an unspecified injury, the severity of which remains unclear.

Meite's potential absence could give Pantaloni an unwanted centre-back headache with Abdoulaye Faye (foot) also out; the only natural alternative in the squad is 23-year-old Ghana international Nathaniel Adjei.

Panos Katseris (dead leg), Bandiougou Fadiga (ankle) and Newcastle United loanee Trevan Sanusi (ankle) are also on the sidelines for the home side.

Lorient possible starting lineup:

Mvogo; Yongwa, Adjei, Talbi; Le Bris, Avom, Abergel, Kouassi; Makengo, Pagis; Soumano

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Grief; Maitland-Niles, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Hateboer, Morton, De Carvalho, Abner; Tolisso, Sulc; Satriano

We say: Lorient 1-2 Lyon

Both teams have scored in all seven of Lorient's Ligue 1 home games in 2025-26, and that trend should almost certainly continue in Sunday's fascinating battle.

The Stade du Moustoir meeting will also pit together two sides with an identical 3-4-2-1 shape, but a resurgent Lyon should outscore their hosts and keep their Champions League charge alive.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.