In the first quarter-final of the Coupe de France, Lyon and Strasbourg will square off in this competition for the first time since 2010 on Tuesday at Groupama Stadium.
Les Gones advanced into the last eight thanks to a narrow 2-1 triumph over Lille earlier this month, while Le Racing made it through to this stage with a 3-1 victory against Le Havre.
Match preview
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For a sixth successive time at the Coupe de France, Lyon have made the quarter-finals, winning their previous two matches at this tournament by a 2-1 score.
Under Pierre Sage, a domestic campaign that fell off the rails early on appears to be back on track, with OL averaging 1.9 points per game in Ligue 1 since the beginning of December, with only Paris Saint-Germain (2.6), Brest (2.2) and Rennes (2.1) doing better domestically over that period.
That is a rapid turnaround for a side who were bottom of the table when Sage replaced Fabio Grosso in late November, with L'OL currently 10th following a 2-1 victory over Metz on Friday.
Olympique Lyonnais are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, with a 100% record this month, winning each of those encounters by a single goal.
With their victory in the last 16 of this competition, Lyon have emerged victorious in four successive home fixtures at the Coupe de France and have not lost a home game at this tournament since the 2021 quarter-finals versus Monaco (2-0).
Lyon have not been knocked out of a Coupe de France affair when scoring the opening goal since their semi-final defeat versus PSG in 2020 (5-1), conceding five unanswered strikes on that occasion.
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It has been a rough 2024 domestic campaign for Strasbourg thus far, without a Ligue 1 triumph this year after winning their final three league fixtures of 2023.
Patrick Vieira's men have lost every one of their domestic outings this month, with February being especially tough, conceding three goals in three successive top-flight encounters.
The Coupe de France this season, though, has gone much better, with the side from Alsace advancing into the last eight for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.
Not since winning this competition in May 2001 have we seen Le RCS advance beyond the quarter-final round, losing their last two appearances at this stage of the tournament.
Strasbourg have won three of their last four away matches at the Coupe de France but have never beaten a Ligue 1 side away from home in this tournament since returning to the French top flight in 2017-18.
Last season, they won an away match against Lyon in the top-flight for the first time this century (2-1), and the last time they faced them at this stage of the Coupe de France, Strasbourg came away with a 3-0 home triumph, eventually going on to lift the trophy months later.
Team News
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L'OL will be missing Johann Lepenant for this match due to a sprained knee, Corentin Tolisso has a hamstring strain and Henrique is dealing with an unknown injury, with each expected to return in early March.
Maxence Caqueret, Malick Fofana and Rayan Cherki were the only three Lyon players who began their round of 32 clash to maintain their place in the starting 11 for their last 16 clash.
Cherki notched the winner against Lille to get them into the quarter-finals, with their opening goal coming courtesy of Gift Orban.
Lebo Mothiba and Jeremy Sebas will not be available for Strasbourg on Tuesday because of knee injuries, while Moise Sahi is dealing with a groin strain, and they are all projected to be back next month.
Thomas Delaine and Dilane Bakwa missed their weekend defeat versus Brest (3-0) through suspension, but will both be eligible to play in this game.
Bakwa had the opening goal in their last 16 triumph versus Le Havre, with the other strikes coming courtesy of Emanuel Emegha and Marvin Senaya.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Kumbedi, O'Brien, Lovren, Tagliafico; Caqueret; Cherki, Mangala, Akoukou, Fofana; Lacazette
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Bellaarouch; Guilbert, Perrin, Sylla, Delaine; Mwanga, Sissoko, Diarra; Bakwa, Emegha, Gameiro
We say: Lyon 2-0 Strasbourg
These sides are going in opposite directions, and we trust the experience and quality of Lyon a lot more than Strasbourg, who will be relatively unfamiliar with a pressure situation like this.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
