Ligue 1 preview: Saint Etienne Vs Olympique Lyon
In perhaps one of the biggest games of the French Ligue 1 this year, bitter rivals, Saint Etienne and, Lyon lock horns for the 101st time in the ‘Rhone Derby’.
A defeat for any of the two sides will surely put curtains on their title aspirations.
The last game between the two sides was the 100th Rhone derby and Saint-Etienne won 1-0 away from home. That victory was ‘Les Verts’ first victory over their bitter rivals at the Stade Gerland in almost 17 years and Saint-Etienne have once again
a great chance of registering their 1st ever home win in almost 16 years.
A victory against Lyon would be the side’s first double over Lyon in nearly 30 years. The last time Saint Etienne did a double over the old enemy was in the 1981-82 season when they won 4-0 and 1-0.
Meanwhile, Saint Etienne ‘patron’ Christopher Galtier isn’t getting carried away with his club’s lofty and rare position in the Ligue 1 and neither is he getting over enthusiastic over the prospect of his side’s first derby double in 3 decades.
At the start of the season no-one could have thought we'd be here with 35 points," said Galtier, who used to be an assistant to Alain Perrin at both Lyon and Saint Etienne. He took over the club in December 2009 and while talking to the media said that his
side is enjoying a great season but needs to be vigilant.
After facing Lyon, they will face Marseilles, who are also vying for a Ligue 1 title.
Saint Etienne will be confident ahead of the big game after last week they defeated Montpellier 2-1. France’s Under-21 star, Emmanuel Riviere, scored a brace in that game and a goal by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jonas-c18967 Martin wasn’t enough.
The brace was Riviere’s first double and the win was the club’s 2nd in as many weeks after they previously defeated Toulouse 2-1 thanks to another brace by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bakary-Sako-c7217.
Last week, Lyon were held to a goal-less draw by Bordeaux at the Stade Gerland, which dropped them from third to sixth in the league table.
Saint Etienne took full advantage of their enemy’s slip-up and moved towards 5th position. There is nothing much to chose from between the two sides except recent results.
Lyon are on 35 points with 9 wins, 5 losses and 8 draws- similar to the record saint Etienne boast.
Even the goal difference is the same, as both sides have a goal difference of +7.
In week 21 of the French Ligue 1, Lyon lost 2-1 to Valenciennes, which was their first loss in 14 league games. However, coach Puel is satisfied with his team’s performance but still believes that there is a lot of room for improvement in the current Lyon
side.
Puel would be happy with news that Argentine midfield maestro Cesar Delgado has recovered from a hamstring injury that made him miss the stalemate against Bordeaux while Brazilian playmaker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ederson-c11880 has also recovered from a hamstring injury and is fit to
play in the crucial derby.
In the game against Valenciennes, defender, Papa Diakhate, picked up a third yellow card so he is also suspended for the match up. Meanwhile, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dejan-Lovren-c10779 is set to return from suspension after completing a one-match ban.
Interesting facts
Lyon captain, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chris-c9006 has played in 9 Rhone derbies and has never tasted defeat in all these derbies. He missed the last derby due to an injury and would be Lyon’s lucky charm if he adds another win to his career record against Saint Etienne.
Lyon striker, Gomis, is the only player who has scored in the derby for both sides. He has scored 2 goals for Saint Etienne during his time there, while he scored his first goal for Lyon in the Rhone derby in last season’s 1-0 win.
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