Lyon and Lille are back in action in the Coupe de France when they go head to head at the Groupama Stadium for a place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Les Gones beat Bergerac Perigord 2-1 in their most recent knockout encounter, while the Mastiffs pipped Racing Colombes 92 1-0 to reach the round of 16.
Match preview
Lyon's Ligue 1 struggles are well documented, but they head into this Coupe de France encounter with Lille on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win over Marseille, their third win in five games across all competitions in 2024.
Pierre Sage's permanent appointment as manager has seemingly steadied the ship, evidenced by a four-game winning run without conceding between December and January, while Sunday's win also propelled them out of the relegation zone, offering a glimmer of hope.
Despite their league woes, Les Gones have progressed in the Coupe de France, overcoming Pontarlier and Bergerac Perigord with a combined score of 5-1.
The five-time Coupe de France champions chase their first title in the competition since 2011-12, which was also the last time they reached the final.
In their way is an in-form Lille who they beat in their last meeting in the competition via a penalty shoot-out.
Lille, their opponents, secured passage to the round of 16 with a goal from Hakon Arnar Haraldsson against Racing Colombes 92, following a comprehensive 12-0 win over Golden Lion in the previous round.
Paulo Fonseca's men have been in excellent form since the turn of the year, remaining unbeaten in 2024 with their most recent outing being a convincing 4-0 victory against Clermont in the league.
Sitting fourth in Ligue 1, just four points behind second-placed Nice, Lille are well on course to secure European football next season.
Now, they shift their focus to the Coupe de France, where they boast six titles, most recently lifting the trophy in 2011 with a 1-0 win over PSG in the final.
Remarkably, Les Dogues are unbeaten in 20 of their last 21 games across all competitions, claiming 12 wins and eight draws - their only blemish being a 2-1 defeat to Strasbourg in their final match of 2023.
Team News
Lyon will be without Johann Lepenant who has not featured this season due to a knee injury and is only expected to return to training by the end of the month.
Winter signings Nemanja Matic and Gift Orban started at the weekend and should keep their places in the starting XI.
Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal in the win over Marseille, making it his 11th of the season across all competitions and will look to add to his tally on Wednesday.
Lille are dealing with injuries to Ivan Cavaleiro (groin), Samuel Umtiti (knee) and Bafode Diakite (shoulder), who will all miss the clash with Lyon.
Jonathan David grabbed a brace against Clermont over the weekend to take his tally to 13 goals this season, making him one to look out for.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Mata, Lovren, O'Brien; Tagliafico, Matic, Caqueret, Maitland-Niles; Cherki, Lacazette, Orban
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Santos, Yoro, Ribeiro, Ismaily; Andre, Bentaleb; Zhegrova, Gomes, Gudmundsson; David
We say: Lyon 1-2 Lille
Lyon have managed to put together some good performances and results under the new manager, but Lille have been better this season. We are backing the Mastiffs to record a slim victory here and progress to the next round.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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