Ligue 1, Saturday, 27/05/2023
The end of the season in France is in sight. PSG have won the championship. But not all decisions have been made yet.
Olympique Lyon would like to qualify for the international business in the last few metres if possible. For that, a win against Stade Reims is imperative.
For the away team, a single-digit place in the table is still at stake. You can find suitable tips and bets on this match in our analysis
Olympique Lyon can no longer qualify for the Conference League on their own merits. OL are four points off fifth place, where OSCL Lille currently lie.
In addition to the three points in the encounter with Stade Reims, the traditional club must also hope for a slip-up by their rivals.
In any case, this project will not be a foregone conclusion. The duel is also a clash between two of the top goal scorers in Ligue 1.
Alexander Lacazette has scored 26 times for Lyon and is second on the all-time scoring list. Folarin Balogun has scored 20 times so far and is fourth in this glorious statistic.
The two strikers could also prove their hunger for goals in this match. So a bet on both of them scoring is a good idea. Betano has odds of 1.60 for this bet.
With 61 goals, Olympique is the seventh strongest offensive team in the league.
But in addition to star striker Lacazette, OL is missing another goal-threatening player. The Brazilian Tete is the second best scorer in the squad with six goals.
44 goals conceded illustrate the merely average defensive work of coach Laurent Blanc’s team. Seven teams have a more stable defence.
Blanc is currently enjoying the most successful weeks of his young tenure at Lyon. The 57-year-old’s team has won six of its last eight matches in Ligue 1.
The team has scored 18 goals in this period. Lyon’s Portuguese goalkeeping icon Anthony Lopes has been called upon to make twelve saves in those matches.
Last weekend saw an important 2-1 win against AS Monaco, who sit in fourth place in the Europa League. The win against the strong opponent kept the hope for the international business alive.
For a week earlier, there was a bitter and unexpected 1:2 defeat against Clermont Foot, who again are right behind Lyon, but no longer have a chance for a starting place in the international competitions.
Fortunately for Lyon, they are back at home against Reims at Groupama Stadium. Nine home wins, four draws and five defeats ensure fifth place for OL in the home table.
Opponents Reims, eleventh in the away table, have managed to score only 17 goals in 18 games away from home in Ligue 1 – but have lost only five times.
The dependence on attacker Balogun is undeniable for Reims. The fact that coach Will Still’s team has still managed to finish eleventh and has never had any major relegation worries this entire season is mainly due to their stable defence.
With 39 goals conceded in 36 league games, Will’s troops are the sixth best defensive team in France. They have conceded only 19 goals away from home.
However, their current form is likely to put worry lines on the faces of Reims’ supporters.
Of their last six league matches, only the game against Lille at the beginning of May was won 1:0. Before that, they suffered three defeats against Rennes (0:3), Strasbourg (0:2) and Clermont Foot (0:1).
After the success against Lille, there was the next failure against the possible and surprising vice-champion RC Lens (1:2).
Last weekend they only managed a draw against bottom of the table Angers, who collected only their sixth point of the season.
The last meeting between Olympique Lyon and Stade Reims on matchday four at the end of August was a 1-1 draw with goals from Reims’ Junya Ito and Lyon’s Moussa Dembele, who is currently being linked with a move to Eintracht Frankfurt.
The overall balance is clearly in favour of Stade Reims. Out of a total of 60 duels, Stade left the pitch as winners 28 times. Lyon won 16 times. The same number of times they drew.
Summary: Olympique Lyon want to do their bit to keep their Conference League chances alive at least until the last matchday. That is the club’s ambition.
Stade Reims would probably like to slowly say goodbye to the summer break. The form is not right. The squad has more quality than the last results suggest.
My tip is victory Lyon.
