Preview: Lyon vs. Nantes - prediction, team news, lineups

A week ago, OL collected a point for a third successive domestic affair, drawing Lille 3-3, while Nantes came back from a pair of deficits to draw Nice 2-2, ending a three-match domestic losing run in the process.

Match preview

The current league campaign for Lyon has been anything but smooth sailing, but they dug themselves out of a pair of two-goal deficits to earn a point last weekend.

Their draw at Lille was the first time since January 2021 that les Gones avoided defeat despite trailing by a pair of goals, having suffered just one road loss so far in 2023.

While Laurent Blanc has seen his group score 12 goals in their last five domestic road fixtures, Lyon have not been quite as potent on home soil.

Olympique Lyonnais have failed to find the back of the net in three of their last five league games at Groupama Stadium, as many as in their previous 44 home fixtures in this competition.

A win or draw on Friday would equal the longest unbeaten run domestically for Lyon this season (four games), and if they can keep Nantes off the scoresheet, it would be the first time that OL failed to concede in successive domestic encounters on home soil on the current campaign.

OL have captured 82% of their home fixtures against la Maison Jaune in the 21st century (14/17- two draws and one loss), their best percentage against an opponent which they have met at least 15 times.

After a string of disappointing results domestically, les Canaris were able to stop the bleeding last weekend, ending its longest losing run of the season.

It was also the first time all year that they came away with at least a point after conceding the opening goal, though they have not won a league match in that scenario since defeating Brest 4-1 last October.

Nantes are one of only six Ligue 1 sides who have scored fewer than 30 goals after 27 domestic fixtures (29), with Antoine Kombouare's men doing most of their damage in the latter stages, netting 59% of their goals domestically (17 of 29) in the final 30 minutes, the highest such ratio in the top-flight this season.

Although they have allowed fewer goals than anyone in the bottom half of the Ligue 1 table this season (36), Nantes have been poor defensively away from home lately, conceding seven times in their last two domestic outings on the road.

In their last four league fixtures, la Maison Jaune have conceded 10 goals, which is eight more than they had given up in their first eight Ligue 1 encounters following the conclusion of the World Cup.

They have not beaten Lyon on their home field in this competition since the 2019-20 season (1-0), conceding a combined six goals in its two previous visits to Groupama Stadium.

Lyon Ligue 1 form:

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L

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D

D

Lyon form (all competitions):

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L

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D

Nantes Ligue 1 form:

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W

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D

Nantes form (all competitions):

L

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D

Team News

Malo Gusto is a few weeks away from being fit for Lyon with a hamstring strain, Jerome Boateng is out until late March because of an unknown problem, Jeffinho will be eyeing a return around that same time, while Anthony Lopes remains unavailable due to a broken finger.

Alexandre Lacazette notched a brace to help his side earn a draw versus Lille, putting him in a tie for second in the Ligue 1 Golden Boot race with 16 goals, while Bradley Barcola scored for the second successive time at home in all competition after finding the back of the net in their 2-1 victory at the Coupe de France last month versus Grenoble.

The leading goalscorer for Lyon last season Moussa Dembele has only scored three times domestically in 2022-23 as he and former players Lucas Paqueta and Tete each found the back of the net in this exact fixture last season, which OL won 3-2.

Nantes will be without Quentin Merlin, who has a sore groin, Andy Delort continues to recover from a calf strain, Charles Traore has an issue with his thigh and Marcus Coco is out because of a muscle injury.

Goals from Mostafa Mohamed and Moussa Sissoko helped them earn a point at home to Nice last weekend, while Ludovic Blas missed a penalty just a few minutes after setting up the opening strike for les Canaris.

Alban Lafont, who is tied for fourth regarding clean sheets in Ligue 1 this season (nine), has conceded six times in his last two visits to Groupama Stadium, though he did shut out OL in Lyon in 2019-20 when an own-goal from Marcal gave his side a 1-0 triumph.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Riou; Kumbedi, Lovren, Lukeba, Tagliafico; Mendes; Lepenant, Caqueret, Tolisso; Lacazette, Barcola

Nantes possible starting lineup:

Lafont; Centonze, Pallois, Girotto, Hadjam; Moutoussamy, Chirivella; Simon, Blas, Ganago; Mohamed

We say: Lyon 2-0 Nantes

Neither side have shown much consistency throughout the campaign, but Lyon are finding the back of the net with more regularity, while Nantes are having a hard time containing opposing attacks.

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