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Sunday sees a key clash in Ligue 1, as Monaco play host to Lyon at the Stade Louis II.
Monaco and Lyon are essentially battling for Ligue 1’s final Champions League qualifying spot, with Monaco in third place and Lyon in fourth.
Lyon will aim to close the gap to just a single point, while Monaco are determined to secure a victory that would likely send them into Europe’s biggest competition.
Monaco vs Lyon Head-to-Head
A tremendous run from Monaco since late December has seen them surge up the table into third place.
Niko Kovac’s side have suffered just one loss since 16 December, a shock defeat at the hands of Strasbourg in March. Outside of that, they’ve managed to pick up a remarkable 48 points from a potential 57.
Most recently, Monaco defeated Angers 0-1, pushing their recent run to five wins in a row.
Meanwhile, Lyon have been on a solid run of their own, but some inconsistent results have seen them slip from the top of the table in 4 January.
Lyon were defeated last weekend by title-challenging Lille, their fourth loss in 2021. Prior to that, they’d defeated Angers and Nantes.
Interestingly, Lyon and Monaco faced off as recently as April in the Coupe de France. That game saw Monaco run out 0-2 winners – but they were also defeated 4-1 by Lyon in a Ligue 1 game in October.
Monaco form guide: W-W-W-W-W
Lyon form guide: W-W-W-L-L
Monaco vs Lyon Team News
Monaco
A COVID-19 outbreak has sidelined a handful of Monaco players, while Stevan Jovetic and Sofiane Diop are also out with injuries.
Injured: Stevan Jovetic, Sofiane Diop
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Aleksandr Golovin, Gelson Martins, Enzo Millot, Chrislain Matsima, Eliot Matazo, Krepin Diatta
Lyon
Incredibly, Lyon have no reported injuries or suspensions to deal with coming into this clash.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Monaco vs Lyon Predicted XI
Monaco predicted XI (4-4-2): Benjamin Lecomte, Djibril Sidibe, Guillermo Maripan, Axel Disasi, Caio Henrique, Ruben Aguilar, Cesc Fabregas, Aurelien Tchouameni, Youssouf Fofana, Kevin Volland, Wissam Ben Yedder
Lyon predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Anthony Lopes, Leo Dubois, Marcelo, Jason Denayer, Melvin Bard, Thiago Mendes, Maxence Caqueret, Karl Toko Ekambi, Houssem Aouar, Memphis Depay, Islam Slimani
Monaco vs Lyon Prediction
These teams are extremely well-matched on paper, with some outstanding players on both sides.
However, Monaco’s form of late has been superior to Lyon’s, and a lengthy winning streak will be tricky to stop, particularly with Niko Kovac’s side at home.
With that in mind, a tight win for Monaco is the prediction.
Prediction: Monaco 2-1 Lyon
