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Saturday sees Lyon play host to Lorient at the Groupama Stadium in a Ligue 1 showdown.
Lyon have seen a mixed start to the season, but recently moved up to sixth place, while Lorient are surprisingly one spot ahead of them in fifth.
Can Lorient continue their good start to the campaign by upsetting Lyon or will it be business as usual for Peter Bosz’s side?
Lyon vs Lorient Head-to-Head
Lyon’s campaign got off to a seriously dodgy start as they picked up just two points from their first three games and also conceded seven goals.
Since then, though, they’ve won three of their last four matches, beating Nantes, Strasbourg and Troyes, moving them into the top six.
Lyon have also got off to a good start in their Europa League campaign, beating Rangers 0-2 in an impressive performance.
Meanwhile, Lorient struggled for traction throughout the 2020-21 campaign, but have started the current season well.
They’ve played seven games thus far and have only lost once – a 3-1 defeat to Montpellier.
Outside of that, they’ve won three and drawn three, picking up wins over a trio of high flyers in Monaco, champions Lille and most recently Nice, who were one of Ligue 1’s form sides.
Lorient haven’t been free-scoring – they’ve managed just eight – but they’ve clearly found a system that works for them right now.
Unsurprisingly, the last time these sides played each other ended in a one-sided fashion in favor of Lyon. They ran out 4-1 winners, and haven’t lost to Lorient since 2017.
Lyon form guide: W-W-W-L-W
Lorient form guide: L-D-W-D-W
Lyon vs Lorient Team News
Lyon
Lyon have three players ruled out for this game, with two of them still waiting to return from serious knee injuries.
Injured: Tino Kadewere, Lenny Pintor, Jeff Reine-Adelaide
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Lorient
Lorient will be without defender Moritz Jenz, who is suspended, while a further three players are expected to miss out with injuries.
Injured: Quentin Boisgard, Jeremy Morel
Doubtful: Fabien Lemoine
Suspended: Moritz Jenz
Lyon vs Lorient Predicted XI
Lyon predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Anthony Lopes, Leo Dubois, Sinaly Diomande, Jason Denayer, Emerson Palmeiri, Maxence Caqueret, Bruno Guimaraes, Xherdan Shaqiri, Lucas Paqueta, Karl Toko Ekambi, Moussa Dembele
Lorient predicted XI (3-5-2): Paul Nardi, Igor Silva, Jerome Hergault, Houboulang Mendes, Julien Laporte, Vincent Le Goff, Enzo Le Fee, Thomas Monconduit, Laurent Abergel, Terem Moffi, Armand Lauriente
Lyon vs Lorient Prediction
Lorient have been in excellent form leading into this game and have already taken some big scalps this season, but this game may prove tricky for them.
Lyon have just seen an upturn in their own form and they have talent all over the pitch, both in the backline and going forward.
It won’t be comprehensive, but a home win is the prediction here.
Prediction: Lyon 2-1 Lorient
