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Lyon
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 5
Sep 12, 2021 at 7.45pm UK
Stade de Gerland
Strasbourg

Lyon
3 - 1
Strasbourg

Dembele (8'), Denayer (64'), Paqueta (87')
Diomande (29'), Boateng (84')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Diallo (90+6' pen.)
Djiku (47')

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

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Lyon and Strasbourg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Having claimed their first Ligue 1 win of the season at the fourth attempt, Lyon will seek to keep the momentum going against Julien Stephan's Strasbourg at the Groupama Stadium on Sunday evening.

Les Gones scraped past Nantes 1-0 in gameweek four before the international break, while Strasbourg marched to a convincing 3-1 success over Brest.


Match preview

Bayer Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz pictured on February 21, 2021© Reuters

Had Anthony Lopes not played a blinder at the Stade de la Beaujoire, Lyon may not have travelled home with all three points to show for their efforts, but the Portuguese shot-stopper was instrumental in preserving his side's lead during a 1-0 success.

While the hosts had 18 shots - nine of them on target - and failed to make the net ripple, Lyon striker Moussa Dembele was on hand to fire home in the 35th minute as Peter Bosz finally claimed a long-overdue first win at the helm.

Throwing away two points in calamitous fashion against newly-promoted Clermont demanded an immediate response from Les Gones, and while the manner of their victory at Nantes was far from convincing, they finally have something to build on after the international break.

With four games played, Lyon have managed to rise into the top half of the rankings owing to their five-point haul, but they must soon juggle domestic and European commitments with their Europa League group-stage campaign set to kick off against Rangers in midweek.

Renowned for their goal-fests at the Groupama Stadium - scoring 12 and conceding 11 in their last five Ligue 1 games at home - Lyon will endeavour to end a three-game winless streak on familiar territory against Strasbourg, who are also buoyed by a first triumph of the campaign.

Rennes manager Julien Stephan pictured in December 2020© Reuters

Strasbourg - who started the season in a very similar vein to Lyon - finally gave their impassioned home supporters something to cheer in gameweek four, as another new coach in Michel der Zakarian sought to improve Brest's fortunes at the Stade de la Meinau.

A 24th-minute episode of pinball in the Brest penalty area ultimately led to Sanjin Prcic putting Strasbourg ahead before Irvin Cardona's neat flick and finish drew his side level within two minutes, but Strasbourg would enter the break boasting a 2-1 lead thanks to Jean-Kevin Duverne's own goal.

Les Coureurs' creative hub Adrien Thomasson would crash home from close range in the final 10 minutes to propel Strasbourg to victory, with that result seeing them rise to 13th in the rankings as they put three underwhelming opening results firmly behind them.

Strasbourg's 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the campaign represents their only defeat from their last five away matches in Ligue 1, but they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 14 top-flight outings and have a truly miserable record to show from their previous visits to Lyon.

Indeed, Strasbourg have lost 15 of their last 21 away Ligue 1 games against Lyon - a run which includes a 3-0 defeat in February - and it has been 42 years since Les Coureurs last prevailed on their opponents' turf in league action.

Lyon Ligue 1 form:
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • W

Strasbourg Ligue 1 form:
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W



Team News

Lyon's Jason Denayer celebrates with teammates after scoring against Rennes on January 9, 2021© Reuters

Lyon managed to hold on to their 1-0 lead against Nantes for the final 12 minutes without Damien Da Silva, who was sent off for two bookable offences and is suspended for the visit of Strasbourg.

The former Rennes man will therefore not get the chance to play against his former coach in Stephan, which should see Jason Denayer earn a swift recall to the rearguard after new arrival Jerome Boateng was found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

Leo Dubois and Tino Kadewere are also absent, while Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes are late arrivals back from international duty, but there could be a debut for former Liverpool man Xherdan Shaqiri, who was an unused substitute in the win over Nantes.

Strasbourg also have a defensive suspension to work around as right-back Karol Fila is banned for an accumulation of yellow cards, but Frederic Guilbert is ready to deputise after rejoining on loan from Aston Villa.

Ibrahima Sissoko's knee problem will also keep him out of Sunday's game, while Jean-Eudes Aholou, Moise Sahi and Lebo Mothiba complete the quintet of absentees for the visitors.

Centre-backs Gerzino Nyamsi and Maxime Le Marchand are pushing for starts after arriving from Rennes and Fulham respectively, but Stephan has little reason to change a winning formula.

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Gusto, Diomande, Denayer, Emerson; Caqueret, Aouar, Guimaraes; Shaqiri, Dembele, Toko Ekambi

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Guilbert, Perrin, Djiku, Caci, Lienard; Bellegarde, Thomasson, Prcic; Ajorque, Gameiro


SM words green background

We say: Lyon 2-1 Strasbourg

Both Lyon and Strasbourg may have got off the mark for the new season in gameweek four, but the hosts are not without their issues, while Strasbourg's shocking record in this fixture speaks for itself.

Bosz's side are yet to kick into gear and the European fatigue will soon start to set in, but we still have confidence in Lyon's ability to make it back-to-back wins by a narrow margin.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win 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.Home Win:data



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Written by
Ben Knapton

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 65.73%. A draw had a probability of 19.6% and a win for Strasbourg had a probability of 14.67%.

The most likely scoreline for a Lyon win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.37%) and 2-1 (9.86%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.27%), while for a Strasbourg win it was 0-1 (4.35%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Lyon would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Lyon vs Strasbourg

Lyon
86.9%
Draw
10.1%
Strasbourg
3.0%
99
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG14104037112634
2Marseille1492331171429
3MonacoMonaco1492324121229
4Lille1475224141026
5Lyon147432617925
6Nice146532617923
7Lens146531712523
8Auxerre146262121020
9Reims145452018219
10Toulouse145361516-118
11Brest145182026-616
12Rennes144281820-214
13NantesNantes143561620-414
14StrasbourgStrasbourg143562227-514
15Angers143471424-1013
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne144191132-2113
17Le HavreLe Havre1440101126-1512
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier1422101336-238


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