League leaders Montpellier travel to Lyon on Saturday night looking to extend the only remaining one hundred percent record in Ligue 1. Remi Garde’s hosts have also yet to taste defeat but with just one win in their opening three matches, already find themselves five points adrift of their opponents and will be looking for a vital victory. Lyon’s midweek qualification for the Champions League group stages will have boosted their morale though, and they will go into the match in determined mood.
Likely Line-Ups
Yoann Gourcuff is nearing fitness but looks like being another week away from a return, while central defender Cris picked up an injury in training and will remain sidelined. The hosts will be relying on the goals of Bafétimbi Gomis and Lisandro to fire them to victory- both forwards have scored two goals in their opening three games and look in the mood to add to their respective tallies.
Laurent Pionnier has excelled for the away side so far and will keep his place in the first XI ahead of Geoffrey Jourdren. Veteran defender Hilton has made an exceptional start to the season and will need to maintain his recent level of performances if Montpellier are to have a chance of picking up the three points.
Key Battles
Montpellier may be the top-scoring side in Ligue 1 right now, but a look at their shots per game highlights a haul of 8 goals has mainly been down to fantastic finishing- they have averaged just 9 shots per game, with ten other clubs managing more so far, which equates to a shot conversion rate of 33%. Lyon, on the other hand, have averaged 12 shots per game but have been nowhere near as impressive when it comes to finding the net- they have scored only 5 goals, which is a huge drop in comparison; just 14% of their attempts have resulted in goals.
It is no surprise then, that WhoScored.com feel the key battles will involve Montpellier’s top scorers. Stop them, and Lyon have a vastly improved chance of grabbing a vital win. So who have been the main threats to this point? So far, four players have all notched two goals apiece for the league leaders but in terms of match ratings, a couple have stood head and shoulders above the rest- Geoffrey Dernis and Olivier Giroud.
Aly Cissokho v Geoffrey Dernis
Luckily for Lyon, Aly Cissokho is in top form right now. The left-back will be directly up against Dernis –the right winger in Montpellier’s 4-2-3-1- and while Dernis has been dispossessed just 1.3 times per game, Cissokho will be quick to close him down and nullify the threat from out wide; he’s made a brilliant 5.3 tackles per game. Dernis is top for successful dribbles for Montpellier, with 1.7 per game, but again Cissokho looks a worthy opponent- he’s yet to be beaten by a dribble in his three games this campaign.
Dernis has also been second most impressive creator for the league leader, making 1.3 key passes per game- Cissokho has made 1 interception per game and will be alert to his creativity. Indeed, going forward Cissokho has actually made more key passes of the two, with 1.7 per game showing his threat. Dernis has averaged 1.7 shots per game, with Cissokho making 0.3 blocks on average; he may need to improve in this area.
With the rest of his defensive work so strong, it’s perhaps debatable how much joy Dernis will get from the duel. Cissokho has also made a fantastic 2.3 successful dribbles per game, showing he’s as good going forward as he is at the back, and has a WhoScored match rating of 7.61 compared to Dernis’ 7.46. It promises to be a fascinating battle down the Lyon left flank.
Dejan Lovren v Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud has been Montpellier’s main goal threat so far- he’s averaged 2.3 shots per game on his way to grabbing 2 goals and Lovren will have to close him down quicker to prevent him letting efforts fly- he’s made no successful blocks as of yet this season, a worrying sign for Lyon. Playing as the lone front man, Giroud’s job is not to create- he’s made just 0.3 key passes per game- and Lovren, with 2 interceptions will be looking to cut off the striker’s distribution whenever he can.
While Giroud makes just 0.3 successful dribbles per game, he should be encouraged by the fact that Lovren has been beaten by more dribbles than any other member of the Lyon back-four, with 1.3 per game. Giroud has rarely lost the ball when in possession; just 0.3 times per game has he been dispossessed, though with Lovren’s solid defensive work seeing him make 2.3 tackles per game (compared to fellow-centre half Cris’ 1) it’s clear he has an eye for snuffing out imminent danger. A look at WhoScored.com’s respective ratings for the duo shows Giroud is clearly the man in form- he has averaged 7.69 per game compared to Lovren’s 6.84.
