Olympique Lyon vs St Etienne - Prediction & Match Preview

Olympique Lyon vs St Etienne

SCHEDULE	TIME
GAME	Lyon vs St Etienne
DATE	21/01/2022
TIME	15:00 PM (UTC)
VENUE	Parc Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon)
LEAGUE	Ligue 1 - Round 22

TV Channel Info

More Information

Streaming starts 5 minutes before kick off

Match Preview

◉ Disappointed at the mid-table berth they occupy ahead of this round, seven-time Ligue 1 champions Lyon will look to claim consecutive league wins for the time since September, after defeating Troyes 1-0 last weekend, and will enter the clash against historical rivals St Étienne as huge favourites.

◉ With just four of the last 13 Ligue 1 H2Hs witnessing goals at both ends, scoring first could be a game decider. Thankfully for home fans, Lyon have been in such a habit so far this Ligue 1 campaign, netting the opener in 13 (65%) of their 20 fixtures.

◉ Yet, in order to avoid the club’s first bottom-half finish since 1995/96, Lyon need to remain resolute in such instances. Indeed, their most obvious weakness here is an inability to defend consistently, with just one clean sheet across their last 13 home league matches.

◉ Visiting St Étienne were left frustrated last weekend, as they were about to claim their first point in nearly two months before a 95th-minute goal saw Lens claim a last-gasp 2-1 win. Instead, ‘Les Verts’ enter this derby guaranteed to end the matchday bottom of the league.

◉ The absence of AFCON participants Wabhi Khazri and Denis Bouanga – who account for 56% of St Étienne’s league goals this term – only makes matters worse. St Étienne have also failed to score in their last two top-flight road trips, but they haven’t registered three away scoring blanks in a row since December 2015.

◉ Players to watch: Lyon’s Moussa Dembélé has scored the game’s opener within 35 minutes in his four goalscoring Ligue 1 matches this campaign. Given their key absences in attack, St Étienne may have to rely on Ryad Boudebouz, who has been involved in three of their last five competitive goals (G2, A1),

◉ Hot stat: St Étienne’s new coach Pascal Dupraz has lost his last seven personal Ligue 1 H2Hs vs Lyon.

Olympique Lyon starting lineup:

Lopes; Lukeba, Boateng, Da Silva; Dubois, Guimaraes, Caqueret, Henrique; Paqueta, Aouar, Dembele

St Etienne starting lineup:

Bernardoni; Macon, Nade, Kolodziejczak, Bakayoko, Silva; Thioub, Youssouf, Camara, Aouchiche; Boudebouz

Prediction

Lyon 3-1 Saint-Etienne

Lyon have kept just one clean sheet at home in Ligue 1 this season, while Saint-Etienne have one away shutout in the league to their name, which is why we think that this encounter could be full of goals.

Les Gones have fared well in recent home meetings against Les Verts, and though derby games can spring surprises, we think Lyon's quality will prevail on Friday.