Heavyweight matchup in Lyon
Lyon welcome Marseille to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium on Sunday evening in a bid to get their season rolling after a slow start whilst Marseille will be doing the same after 3 winless games in a row.
Lyon
Les Gones are having a hard time living up to their heavyweight status after kicking off the season with 1 win, 1 defeat and 3 draws which is far from catastrophic but also far from good enough.
Not living up to their expectations
The most worrying fact in all this is that all draws along with the defeat came against mediocre sides that a team of Lyons stature should have no problem against. Most Lyon fans would have imagined their squad being top of the pile after such a generous fixture-list and its hard to blame them.
Tough fixtures coming up
Whats more is that Lyon now come up against Marseille, Monaco, Lille and Saint-Étienne within the next 5 games meaning the risk that Lyon falls further down the table is very real.
However, a source of some comfort will be that 2 of the draws along with the defeat came away from home meaning that they will more likely than not feel a little extra confidence compared to if it had been an away game.
Marseille
Les Olympiens started the season in the best possible way with 2 away wins in a row against both Brest (2-3) and PSG (0-1) making them look like real title contenders for a while there. They were however hauled back to earth after a defeat against Saint-Étienne as well as draws against Lille and Metz.
It is slightly strange that both victories came away from home whilst the draws and defeat came at home but its still early in the season so speculating is still somewhat pointless.
Looking strong despite latest hiccups
Andre Villas-Boas has done a great job since joining Marseille leading them to a second place last season and thus qualification to the Champions League. Given that their squad is intact and the fact that they showed what they were capable of during the win against PSG, i do not see why they cannot repeat last seasons second place.
But first, a tricky away game against another heavyweight.
Betting tip
Marseille have impressed while Lyon have not, simple as that. I will be backing Marseille to win or draw at the fantastic odds of 2.15 with Betway.
