After a summer transfer fuelled with speculation and not much outcome, Lyon and Rennais clash in Brittany on the opening day of the 2012/2013 Ligue 1 campaign
Stade de la Route de Lorient, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899, will see Stade Rennais host Olympique Lyonnais in the first week of the 2012/2013 Ligue 1 Championnat.
Onus is on both clubs to start with a good result, after the Bretons missed out on a place in Europa League by a single point while Les Gones failed to finish inside the top three since the 1997/98 campaign.
Failure to qualify for the Champions League has put the club under a lot of financial pressure and Remi Garde would be eager to see his team return to the competition by the end of the new campaign.
As the two sides prepare to clash tonight, neither side has a clear idea of what the future holds for them. Rennais are not sure if star player, Yann M’Vila will be with them after the end of the transfer window while Lyon, might still bid adieu to a few
players.
M’Vila played all 38 games for Rennais last season but is itching for a move away from the club. The midfielder has not been selected by Didier Deschamps for France’s international friendly against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Uruguay-c3035 next week, and is set to play a tough encounter
tonight.
Frederic Antonetti, the coach of Rennais, is not really worried about the situation surrounding his star man’s future. While talking to the media, the Corsican said that the player’s attitude has been exemplary despite so much going on.
Throughout the preseason, Rennais won just once and last Saturday, succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Lille. And, Antonetti feels that his side could have done more fine-tuning work ahead of the new campaign.
The Frenchman believes that the team is lacking in confidence and admits that some individual performances have not been good enough.
“We are still not taking enough of our chances. Maybe, we could have done with an extra two weeks. But we will have to try and put together what we’ve got and find other qualities, mentally for example, that can help us,” said Antonetti.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 on the other hand, started their season two weeks back with a Trophee des Champions win over reigning Ligue 1 champions, Montpellier Herault at the Red Bull Arena in New York. However, despite a morale-boosting win, Remi Garde is far away
from having a team that can challenge for the Championelle and a Champions League place.
Les Gones compete in the Europa League this season and lack of signings could mean that the campaign might be a tough one for the young coach.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michel-Bastos-c25461 are also uncertain. Last season, Lyon conceded 51 goals in defence which means that this sector needs to be worked on.
The Rhone giants are trying to negotiate a deal for Paris Saint-Germain centre back, Milan Bisevac in a move that could see right-back, Anthony Reveillere go the other way.
However, despite all these distractions, Garde feels that his team’s summer preparations that ended with a stalemate against Portuguese giants http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186, have gone according to plan.
“We have had a good preseason, different to last year because we don’t have a Champions League qualifier to focus on but there was the Trophee des Champions. That was our first objective, an important one. We played some good stuff going forward in the second
half against Montpellier.”
Team news
Stade Rennais
Luckily, Antonetti has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Lyon
Remi Garde would be sweating over the fitness of Lisandro Lopez who missed the Trophee des Champions game due to an ankle injury. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dejan-Lovren-c10779 is out of the game while goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris is a major doubt due to illness.
Predictions
Despite missing a few important personnel, Lyon may edge out Rennais in Brittany largely due to the fact that they have had a better preseason than their adversaries.
Predicted final score: Rennais 0-1 Lyon
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