Olympique de Lyonnais Vs Montpellier HSC - Ligue 1 Preview
On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, Stade de Gerland in Lyon will witness seven-time Ligue 1 champions, Olympique de Lyonnais, host http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Montpellier-HSC-c39945 in knowledge that a win can put them back in the title fight.
Should Lyon manage to beat Montpellier at Stade de Gerland, they would be just 4 points behind league leaders, LOSC Lille. However, it might be http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 in the driving seat at the end of the day as they OFC Nice in Wednesday’s other league game. Marseille are just a solitary point behind Lille and have a game in hand. Owing much to Lille’s failure to win games in the final furlong of the season, the race for the title has been thrown wide open. Lyon, on the other hand, have to put themselves back to winning ways after they suffered a disappointing defeat at Parc des Princes to Paris Saint-Germain last week.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michel-Bastos-c25461 is still recuperating from a knee injury and the Brazilian has warned his team-mates that they cannot afford any further slip-ups. While talking to Lyon’s official website, the Brazilian said, "There are seven games left and we must give everything so we may hope to win the title and be champions.''
In three of their last four league games, Lyonnais have conceded late goals – a trend that has cost them a total of at least 10 points this season. In Week 28, they concede a late goal in the game against Rennes and then drew 2-2 to Nice in stoppage time after leading the game 2-0. Claude Puel has to find a way to cover up his team’s defensive frailties. However, this isn’t the only challenge Puel is facing. His biggest challenge is getting the best out of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Yoann-Gourcuff-c37416. The Frenchman made a big money move to Lyon last summer but has not lived up to his billing. The player himself admits that he has not played as well as he should have this season.
Montpellier, on the other hand, would be broken after their Coupe de la Ligue final defeat at the hands of Olympique de Marseille. Even though Rene Girard’s side is a difficult team to break down, scoring goals has been a major problem for the side all season. Only Nice and Arles-Avignon have scored fewer goals than Montpellier in the 2010/11 campaign. The attack is heavily reliant on the gigantic frame of Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman has scored ten goals for his side this season. Coach Rene Girard has admitted that the defeat in the final is hard to digest but has asked his team to finish the season on a strong note.
"We have to digest the final defeat. It makes it harder to recuperate. We had quite a few players suspended or injured for the final and now we have this Lyon game. What a present that is. We could have played them at a different time, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut, otherwise I'll get accused of crying again," Girard said.
Team News
Olympique de Lyonnais
Midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Miralem-Pjanic-c25984 is suspended for tonight’s game while influential midfielder, Michel Bastos, is unlikely to play any role tonight as he has just returned to training following a knee operation.
Montpellier
Abdelhamid El Kaoutari will miss tonight’s game as he will serve the second game of his 2-match ban after receiving a red card in last week’s league match against Marseille. Centre-back, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Emir-Spahic-c12523 is also going to miss the game as he serves out a seven-match ban.
Prediction
While Olympique de Lyonnais have stuttered in the last few weeks, they have not been beaten at home in the last 12 games. Moreover, Montpellier have shown that scoring goals can be the hardest thing for some teams. Though, Lyon are missing a few players, Claude Puel’s side has enough to record a victory against a team that is still coming to terms with Saturday’s defeat in the Coupe de La Ligue final.
Predicted Final score: Lyon 1-0 Montpellier
Tags: