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

Les Gones came from behind to sink Montpellier HSC 2-1 in their most recent showdown, while Les Aiglons were bested 3-2 by Monaco in the Derby de la Cote d'Azur.

Match preview

An unfathomable demotion to the second tier of French football remains a distinct possibility for Lyon, but with Sage in control of the reins, the seven-time French champions are slowly but surely leapfrogging more and more of their relegation rivals, most recently bumping Montpellier down the standings.

A 23rd-minute Arnaud Nordin header saw La Paillade draw first blood at their Stade de la Mosson fortress last weekend, but a second-half turnaround from the men in white saw Alexandre Lacazette find a gap from an incredibly tight angle before Maxence Caqueret's long-range stunner struck the underside of the bar and bounced over the line.

On account of just their sixth top-flight win of the campaign - five of which have come since the start of December - Lyon have propelled themselves into a healthier 13th position in the Ligue 1 table, now with an unassailable five-point lead over Metz in the automatic drop zone.

Sage's men - who also have a Coupe de France quarter-final clash with Strasbourg to look forward to later this month - are still capable of being usurped by relegation playoff-place occupants Lorient this weekend, but a dreadful start to the new term is starting to become a distant memory for Les Gones, who only have a three-point gap to make up to Strasbourg in 10th.

The beating of Montpellier also marked the 10th game on the trot in which Sage's men have found the back of the net, and three of their last four Ligue 1 home matches have seen Lyon keep a clean sheet, although the one game in which they did not saw them ship three to Rennes in a 3-2 loss.

That same scoreline coincidentally appeared in the top left-hand corner of the screen when Nice and Monaco renewed hostilities in last weekend's Riviera derby, where an outrageous long-range strike from Monegasques midfielder Denis Zakaria would be a sign of things to come.

The one-time Chelsea man then notched his second of the afternoon after Gaetan Laborde had drawn Nice level from the penalty spot, and even though Evann Guessand levelled matters for Les Aiglons for a second time, Francesco Farioli's men had no response to Aleksandr Golovin's close-range finish.

Following a string of masterful defensive displays during the autumn months, where they kept an astounding eight clean sheets in a row from September to November, Nice's backline no longer has an impenetrable feel to it, allowing Paris Saint-Germain to wheel away at the top of the standings.

Nice still possess the best-of-the-rest label in second place, but they have now fallen 11 points behind the reigning champions and are capable of being overtaken by recent foes Monaco and Brest - not a fanciful scenario given Les Aiglons' dissatisfactory spell of form on the road in recent weeks.

Indeed, Farioli's men have failed to win any of their last five top-flight contests on enemy territory - only scoring a paltry one goal in that time - and they have triumphed in just one of their last four meetings with Lyon, who walked away from the Allianz Riviera with a hard-earned point from August's goalless draw.

Lyon Ligue 1 form:

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Lyon form (all competitions):

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Nice Ligue 1 form:

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Nice form (all competitions):

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Team News

By virtue of collecting three yellow cards in the space of 10 Ligue 1 matches, integral Lyon centre-back Jake O'Brien must sit out Friday's match through suspension; either Clinton Mata or Adryelson should partner Duje Caleta-Car while the Irishman serves his ban.

Johann Lepenant's knee injury will keep the midfielder out for a little while longer too, and neither Lacazette nor Corentin Tolisso were able to complete the win over Montpellier last time out; the latter came off just before the break with a hamstring problem.

Orel Mangala is waiting in the wings should Tolisso's issue prevent him from playing, but Sage played down the severity of his problem after the match, and there is also nothing to suggest that Lacazette - an 89th-minute casualty - will not be fit for Friday's game.

Farioli and Sage can empathise when it comes to losing defenders to suspension, as 40-year-old Nice captain Dante received a straight red card in the loss to Monaco, meaning that the Brazilian veteran will also take his place on the naughty step for at least one game.

The visitors also have few concerns on the injury front at the minute, with only Sofiane Diop (foot) expected to miss the trip to the Groupama Stadium, while Nigeria's Terem Moffi and Ivory Coast's Jeremie Boga are both due to return from their Africa Cup of Nations exploits.

Neither man was a central figure in their countries' progression to the final and should come straight back into contention for starts, but Guessand and Laborde will not cede their places easily owing to their goals from the recent derby defeat.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Lopes; Kumbedi, Mata, Caleta-Car, Tagliafico; Caqueret, Matic, Mangala; Nuamah, Lacazette, Cherki

Nice possible starting lineup:

Bulka; Lotomba, Todibo, Rosario, Bard; Thuram, Ndayishimiye, Sanson; Laborde, Guessand, Louchet

We say: Lyon 1-1 Nice

With both Lyon and Nice being forced to cope without one of their key centre-backs on Friday evening, both sets of attackers may be licking their lips, especially with the visitors not as tough a nut to crack as they once were and flattering to deceive on their travels.

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