The opening game of the French Ligue One on Saturday pits two surprisingly struggling sides in Bordeaux and Lyon at the Stade Matmut-Atlantique.
The two sides are 13th and 12th respectively and just can’t climb up the table despite the season now entering its 20th round.
Bordeaux come into this game on poor form and have slipped down the pecking order. They are currently in 13th place and have lost their last 3 games in row. They face a tough match here but the league is still so close that if they won they could be back into the top 10.
The club’s last game ended in a 1-0 defeat at Rennes and at home they have won almost 50% of their games. They did lose their last home game which was against Strasbourg but prior to that had won their last 3 in a row.
Since Sylivinho was sacked it hasn’t gone completely to plan for Lyon who are still struggling under their new coach Rudi Garcia. The club are in 12th and have the same points as Bordeaux but a club like Lyon the objective is to be top 2 at worst top 3, and they are currently 7 points from that target.
Lyon have gone their last 2 games with no wins and only one win in their last 4 games. What Lyon do possess is a decent away record where they have the 2nd best in the league. Though the club have only won 40% of their games on the road the good news is that they are recently unbeaten in their last 3.
Josh Maja and Otavio are likely to come back in to the side, having been rested last time out in the league. Hwang Ui-Jo and Samuel Kalu are absent here, the former for civil service and the latter for coming back nearly a week late from holiday for issues surrounding his passport. Yacine Adli and François Kamano should start in their respective places.
Teenage defender Oumar Soulet has joined Memphis and Reine-Adélaïde in suffering a season-ending knee injury. Youngsters Maxence Caqueret and Rayan Cherki are likely to come into the XI here, having impressed at the weekend. Rafael will make his return at right-back, despite rumours linking him with a move away.
Bordeaux only ended a streak of four losses as they beat Le Mans (2-0) in Coupe de France last week. Girondins held Lyon to a 1-1 draw at Groupama Stadium earlier this term. Lyon snatched a 2-3 win at this ground in April 2019, ending a streak of three trips without a win here.
The other Ligue One fixtures on Saturday
-Toulouse vs Brest @10pm
-Amiens vs Montpellier @10pm
-Angers vs Nice @10pm
-Nimes vs Reims @10pm
-Metz vs Strasbourg @10pm
The Ligue One upcoming fixtures – Sunday, 12-01-2020
-Saint Etienne vs Nantes @5pm
-Dijon vs Lille @7pm
-PSG vs Monaco @11pm
Friday Result
-Rennes 0-1 Marseille
