Matchday Four in the Ligue 1 campaign will see Reims seeking their first victory of the season when they welcome undefeated Lyon to Stade Auguste-Delaune on Sunday.
Les rouges et blancs picked up their first point of the season last weekend, drawing Strasbourg 1-1, while Lyon have won their only two fixtures to date, beating Troyes 4-1 last Friday.
Match preview
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It has been another rough beginning to a top-flight campaign for the club from the Champagne region of France, who are winless after three domestic encounters for a third successive season.
Last season, despite a slew of injuries to their backline, Oscar Garcia had his side well organised defensively, as they allowed the fewest goals in an entire Ligue 1 campaign (44) since their return into the top flight in 2018-19 (42).
So far in 2022-23, they have been poor defensively, to put it mildly, conceding the second-most goals in the league to date (nine).
Without the services of Reims born and bred teenage sensation Hugo Ekitike, who was loaned to PSG before the start of the season, Garcia has emphasised the importance of collective contributions up and down the roster.
Over the 2021-22 campaign they scored nine times in the final 10 minutes of play plus stoppage time, and they showed that same kind of resiliency in Alsace last Sunday, equalising in the 81st minute, despite only having 36% of the possession.
Reims have lost just one of their last eight Ligue 1 fixtures against Olympique Lyonnais and are unbeaten in their previous five home fixtures against them.
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In the early stages of this competition, Lyon have picked up right where they left off a season ago, having now captured their last four domestic affairs.
They were the far superior side last week from the opening whistle, claiming 67% of the possession while holding Troyes to just a single shot on target while scoring on 50% of theirs (4/8).
The club were extremely busy over the summer transfer window, adding plenty of firepower, and their signings have made an immediate impact, with three of their six goals coming from newcomers this season.
Peter Bosz has given his players plenty of freedom to move about the pitch, while their fast, combinational rhythm has put them to be a step ahead of their opponents in the early portion of the year, putting 14 efforts on target in just two games.
Despite finishing in a European position in two of their past three campaigns, les Gones have not always started a season brightly, though a victory this weekend would mark the first time they began a league campaign at 3-0 since 1981-82.
L'OL have looked compact and responsible on the defensive side early in the campaign, conceding the fewest goals in the league so far (two).
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Team News
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Folarin Balogun is off to an excellent start this season as the Reims striker, on loan from Arsenal, has three goals, including the equaliser against Strasbourg last week, while Alexis Flips picked up an assist, with the only other goal scored by them this season coming from Kamory Doumbia, who had the opener in their 4-2 loss to Clermont.
Marshall Munetsi and Wout Faes, who combined for nine goals last season, are still seeking their first of the new campaign, while El Bilal Toure is still looking for his first assist after leading the way for them with five in 2021-22.
Anastasios Donis is out for a few weeks with an illness, while Thomas Foket and Rafik Guitane are both nursing muscle injuries.
Alexandre Lacazette has a goal in each of his first two games since rejoining Lyon from Arsenal over the summer, Nicolas Tagliafico picked his first of the year last week, while Tete has three to lead the way.
Corentin Tolisso has two goals in his career for Lyon versus Stade de Reims, while Karl Toko Ekambi, who had 12 tallies domestically last season, has yet to find the back of the net in the new campaign.
Sinaly Diomande is out with a muscle issue, Jerome Boateng and Julian Pollersbeck are dealing with unknown injuries and Anthony Lopes missed their last match with a red card suspension.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Pentz; Abdelhamid, Faes, Gravillon; Locko, Zeneli, Munetsi, Cajuste; Doumbia; Balogun, Toure
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Gusto, Mendes, Lukeba, Tagliafico; Paqueta, Caqueret, Tolisso; Tete, Lacazette, Ekambi
We say: Reims 1-3 Lyon
Reims have put together some solid performances against Lyon recently, but this OL side have a lot more firepower and are extremely dangerous in front of goal, while les rouges et blancs have had a hard time staying composed on the back end when under pressure this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
