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Kick off: Sunday, 8.11.2015. @21:00
Venue: Stade de Gerland
Head to head record
Olympique Lyon vs Saint-Etienne 2-2 (2014/2015 Ligue 1)
Saint-Etienne vs Olympique Lyon 3-0 (2014/2015 Ligue 1)
Olympique Lyon vs Saint-Etienne 1-2 (2013/2014 Ligue 1)
Saint-Etienne vs Olympique Lyon 1-2 (2013/2014 Ligue 1)
Olympique Lyon vs Saint-Etienne 1-1 (2012/2013 Ligue 1)
Olympique Lyon vs Saint-Etienne prediction
Stade de Gerland will host Sunday’s local derby between Olympique Lyon and Saint-Etienne. Les Gones aim to stay in the race for the domestic trophy, but les Verts are surely capable of making life difficult for the hosts.
Les Gones focused on the Ligue 1
Olympique Lyon won their last Ligue 1title back in 2008 and they are certainly eager to regain the domestic trophy. Les Gones, though, are on a very difficult quest in the 2015/2021 campaign as PSG look unstoppable at the moment. The club chiefs did well to keep hold of key player Alexandre Lavazette in the summer transfer window, but the Arsenal target has been struggling in the 2015/2021 Ligue 1 campaign. The 24-year-old attacker has netted only two goals this season, but, no doubt, he will be the man to watch in the home side in Sunday’s derby against Saint-Etienne. Lyon suffered a 2-0 loss to Zenit in the Champions League on Wednesday evening and, as a result, they have slim chances of reaching the knockout stages of the elite competition. Les Gones will be fully focused on the national championship in days to come and they will give 100% to melt PSG’s advantage in the Ligue 1 standings as much as possible.
The likes of Clemen Grenier, Gueida Fofana, Nabil Fekir and Aldo Kalulu are all sidelined with injury, while Serbian defender Milan Bisevac is a major doubt and he will be assessed on the match day.
Back to back defeats on the road
Saint-Etienne participate in the Europa League group stages this term, but they certainly want to take part in the Champions League next season. Les Verts occupy 3rd place in the Ligue 1 standings at the moment and they are level on points with their bitter local rivals Olympique Lyon ahead of Sunday’s derby. Saint-Etienne recorded a 3-0 win over Reims at their Stade Geoffroy-Guichard at the weekend, but it is well known that they produce much better performance at home than on the travels. Christophe Galtier’s troops suffered back-to-back defeats to the likes of Caen and PSG in last two away fixtures and it is no surprise they are regarded as underdogs in the local derby. Slovenian attacker Robert Beric has found his goal-scoring touch of late and he will be the man to watch in the away side. The former Rapid Wien attacker has netted five goals in all competitions for his new club.
Kevin Theophile-Catherine, Jonathan Bamba and Moustapha Bayal Sall are all sidelined with injury, but there are no suspended players in the away side. Coach Christophe Galtier should stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Olympique Lyon vs Saint-Etienne betting tip
There will be fireworks when the two local rivals square off against each other at Stade de Gerland on Sunday. I am positive that we will see a lot of hard tackles in the derby and there is every chance we will see a low-scoring affair this time out. In their last meeting in the national championship the two teams played out a 2-2 draw, but one goal should separate the two sides in Sunday’s local derby. You should know that Lyon have conceded only one goal in last four league matches.
Tip: Under 2.5 goals
Odds: 1.90 (9/10) @Pinnacle
