Lyon will be looking to make it three-straight wins across all competitions when they host Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday afternoon at the Groupama Stadium.

Les Gones made it through to the last four of Coupe de France in the week by defeating Grenoble, whereas Lorient were last in action in the league against strugglers Auxerre.

Match preview

After a disappointing eighth-placed finish in the French top flight last season, Lyon look set to find it difficult once again to earn European football via their league position this time around.

Les Gones are currently ninth in the divisional standings, eight points behind Rennes in fifth with only 13 games left to play of a campaign which included an unprecedented World Cup break.

A run of five losses in six matches back near the start of the season set the tone of a challenging time for Lyon, but their form has been markedly improved recently, losing just twice in their last 12 games in all competitions.

Tuesday night saw Laurent Blanc's men defeat second-tier Grenoble to earn passage to the last four of the Coupe de France, with strikes from Bradley Barcola and Jefferson enough to set up a tie with Nantes next month.

Lorient travel to the Groupama Stadium on Sunday afternoon in less-than-ideal form, having tasted victory in just one of their last six matches across all competitions.

A return of four points from their last five Ligue 1 clashes has seen their charge on the European places take a massive blow, although considering the club finished 16th in consecutive campaigns before this season, there is an air of contentment at Stade Yves Allainmat.

Regis Le Bris's men are sitting in eighth in the league standings with 39 points from 25 matches, meaning Les Merlus have already surpassed their points total from the 2021-2022 season (36) with a remarkable 13 games left to spare.

Lorient's assault on the top tier of French football has relaxed significantly since the January departures of Terem Moffi and Dango Ouattara, but Le Bris's side are still a difficult opponent to face for any club in the division.

Team News

Lyon have a host of injuries to high-profile players to contend with ahead of this weekend's visit of Lorient, including that of striker Alexandre Lacazette, who is expected to be sidelined with a thigh injury until the middle of this month.

Algerian Houssem Aouar is also a few weeks away from action due to a knock picked up in February, whereas a hamstring injury for right-back Malo Gusto will keep him away from the pitch for a couple of weeks.

Lorient's downturn in form has been contributed to by the absence of first-choice stopper Yvon Mvogo, with the 28-year-old out due to a tendon injury suffered back in November.

Julien Laporte picked up a knee injury early on in the match against Reims at the start of last month - the centre-back is expected to return to the first-team fold in the latter stages of April.

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Diomande, Lukeba, Lovren, Tagliafico; Lepenant, Mendes, Caqueret, Cherki; Barcola, Dembele

Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mannone; Carioca, Meite, Talbi, Le Goff; Abergel, Makengo, Faivre, Le Fee, Dieng; Kone

We say: Lyon 2-1 Lorient

Lyon are coming into this clash after Coupe de France success on Tuesday night, and they should be confident of collecting maximum points against Lorient in front of their home faithful.

Les Merlus' season is beginning to peter out despite its overriding success to date, and we believe they will return to Lorient with nothing to show for their efforts on Sunday afternoon.


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