The pick of the fixtures in gameweek nine of the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season sees high-flying Lille play host to a Lyon side who are beginning to get into their stride.
Les Dogues are looking to maintain their unbeaten start to proceedings, while Lyon are aiming to build on their 4-1 thrashing of Monaco last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lille have enjoyed a magnificent start to the new season with five wins and three draws so far, but with Paris Saint-Germain's dominance starting to shine through, Christophe Galtier's men have been knocked off their perch heading into Sunday's visit of Lyon.
Les Dogues are having to juggle their domestic campaign with a taxing Europa League venture, though, and the Ligue 1 outfit were forced to do it the hard way against Celtic as they rescued a 2-2 draw at home to the perennial Scottish champions in midweek.
A quickfire double from Mohamed Elyounoussi put Celtic in control of the tie before the half-time whistle blew, but Galtier's men restored parity through Zeki Celik and Jonathan Ikone to extend their unbeaten start to the season to 10 matches in all competitions, although Lille have now drawn two on the bounce following a 1-1 stalemate with Nice in the league.
It remains to be seen if the recent draws are just a temporary blip or the start of a worrying trend for Lille, who are sure to be affected by the hectic fixture schedule heading into the winter, with Galtier's men having to keep in mind next week's trip to San Siro to take on AC Milan - a side in terrific form themselves.
Nevertheless, with the joint-best defensive record in the league and three top-flight victories on the bounce at home, Lille will certainly avoid erring on the side of caution as they look to keep the pressure on PSG, but that could prove costly against a Lyon side gunning for goals.
© Reuters
Prior to Lyon's trip to Strasbourg in gameweek six, Rudi Garcia had not witnessed his side take all three points since an opening-day thrashing of Dijon, but Les Gones are now searching for their third win on the bounce in the top flight.
After coming out on the correct end of the scoreline in a five-goal thriller with Strasbourg, the youthful defence of Monaco proved no match for Lyon's attacking prowess as Les Gones put four past Niko Kovac's men in the first half last Sunday.
Not even a late red card to Melvin Bard could dampen the spirits in the Lyon camp, with Karl Toko Ekambi bagging his second brace in as many matches while Houssem Aouar and Memphis Depay also found the back of the net against Les Monegasques.
With Lyon's attack seemingly firing on all cylinders, and Garcia able to concentrate solely on the league with no international competition this term, Les Gones can lay down a marker with victory at Lille as they push for a return to the Champions League.
Lyon are winless in their last seven against Lille in the French top flight, although Les Gones did manage to triumph over Galtier's men on penalties in the 2019-20 Coupe de la Ligue semi-finals either side of back-to-back 1-0 defeats in Ligue 1.
Lille Ligue 1 form: WDWWWD
Lille form (all competitions): WWWWDD
Lyon Ligue 1 form: LDDDWW
Team News
© Reuters
Galtier has no injury concerns at all for Sunday's visit of Lyon, although the Dogues manager is sure to make a couple of alterations owing to the congested schedule.
Renato Sanches had to make do with a spot on the bench in midweek but should return to the first XI here, and the same goes for veteran defender Jose Fonte, who enjoyed a night off on Thursday.
Jonathan David has now hit the 10-game mark for Lille without a goal to his name, with Burak Yilmaz set to be recalled to Galtier's starting lineup for the weekend.
Bard had been on the pitch for less than 10 minutes before being made to take the walk of shame against Monaco, with his absence guaranteeing that Maxwell Cornet will start at left-back for Lyon.
Both teams have relatively clean bills of health for this one, with Jason Denayer the only doubt for the visitors, meaning that Sinaly Diomande is likely to partner Marcelo once again.
Bruno Guimaraes and Maxence Caqueret are looking to force their way back into Garcia's midfield, but it is difficult to see the Lyon manager making many changes to the side from that dominant victory over Monaco.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Bradaric; Araujo, Sanches, Andre, Bamba; Ikone, Yilmaz
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Dubois, Marcelo, Diomande, Cornet; Caqueret, Mendes; Kadewere, Aouar, Toko Ekambi; Depay
We say: Lille 2-3 Lyon
Lille have proved to be somewhat of a bogey team for Lyon in recent years, but with the youthful talent that the visitors have on show, Les Gones will be confident of breaking the duck this weekend. Fans should be in for a treat with this one and we could be seeing goals aplenty at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, but Lille may be starting to feel the effects of the unforgiving schedule and we expect Lyon to condemn the hosts to their first defeat of the campaign.
