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

Lyon will endeavour to rise to the top of the Ligue 1 table when they welcome Strasbourg to the Groupama Stadium for Saturday evening's battle.

The hosts eked out a vital 1-0 win over Dijon in their midweek outing, whereas Strasbourg could only claim a point from their clash with Brest.

Match preview

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A couple of uncharacteristic slip-ups have hampered Lyon's bid for Ligue 1 glory, but Rudi Garcia 's side are now playing like a team with title ambitions once more.

Les Gones learned very quickly that David Linares 's Dijon do not ship many goals, but the returning Lucas Paqueta got the all-important goal which propelled Lyon to their third victory on the bounce in the top flight, and their sixth in seven away from home.

The hosts remain one point clear of champions Paris Saint-Germain, but a seemingly unstoppable Lille outfit cruised past Bordeaux to remain atop the rankings for now, with Lyon two behind their title rivals in an enthralling battle for Ligue 1 glory.

Eleven of Lyon's last 14 matches have ended with Garcia's side taking the spoils - including six of their last eight on familiar territory - and victory over Strasbourg would see them usurp Lille at the top before Les Dogues do battle with a relegation-threatened Nantes a day later.

Only Paris Saint-Germain (53) have chalked up more goals than Lyon (47) this term, largely down to the inspired form of attacking trident Memphis Depay, Tino Kadewere and Karl Toko Ekambi, who already boast 30 strikes between them in the 2020-21 campaign.

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Strasbourg's fight against the drop has gathered pace in recent months, but a 2-2 draw with Brest in midweek represented their third top-flight game in a row without three points to their name.

Thierry Laurey would have been incredibly frustrated with the manner of his side's stalemate with Brest too, as Les Coureurs went 2-0 up through Adrien Thomasson and Jean-Eudes Aholou before letting that lead slip in the final 10 minutes, with Gaetan Charbonnier and Jeremy Le Douaron restoring parity for Les Pirates.

Laurey's side kicked off 2021 with three wins and three clean sheets on the bounce, but they have since taken just two points from clashes with Dijon, Reims and Brest - teams who they would have expected to beat - so Strasbourg are not out of the woods just yet.

The 15th-placed visitors find themselves six points clear of the bottom three but could rise as high as 12th this weekend should other results go their way, and only one of their last five matches away from home has ended in defeat.

Attempting to get one over an inspired Lyon team is a steep mountain to climb, though, and Les Gones came out on top in a five-goal thriller when the sides met back in October.

Lyon Ligue 1 form: WDLWWW

Strasbourg Ligue 1 form: WWWDLD

Team News

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Lyon defender Jason Denayer went off injured against Bordeaux and is expected to miss the visit of Strasbourg as well, but Garcia has no selection concerns otherwise.

Paqueta justified his selection in midweek and should start back-to-back games for the title-chasing Gones, while Houssem Aouar displaced Maxence Caqueret against Dijon and will hope to keep his place too.

Garcia can afford to rest players in next week's Coupe de France battle with Ligue 2 outfit Ajaccio, so the hosts will not make many alterations whatsoever here.

The Lyon boss explained that Maxwell Cornet 's half-time substitution against Dijon was a tactical decision, and the 24-year-old is expected to retain his spot in the starting lineup regardless.

Highly-rated Strasbourg centre-back Mohamed Simakan - who is supposedly set to complete a move to RB Leipzig in the summer - will spend another month on the sidelines with a knee problem.

Long-term absentees Matz Sels and Lebo Mothiba are the only other concerns for the visitors, who are otherwise in good shape heading into this daunting showdown.

The visitors recently signed Aston Villa defender Frederic Guilbert on loan after Kenny Lala 's departure, but it remains to be seen if the right-back will be cleared to play this weekend due to isolation protocols.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Lopes; Dubois, Diomande, Marcelo, Cornet; Guimaraes, Aouar, Paqueta; Kadewere, Depay, Toko Ekambi

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:

Kawashima; Caci, Mitrovic, Djiku, Carole; Aholou, Sissoko; Diallo, Thomasson, Bellegarde; Ajorque

We say: Lyon 2-0 Strasbourg

Strasbourg should not be in any real danger of relegation having managed to turn their fortunes around somewhat, but three games without a win is a recipe for disaster before a trip to Lyon. The hosts would have expected to score more than just the one goal against Dijon, but we cannot see an upset happening here and expect Garcia's charges to return to the top of the pile with a comfortable win.

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