Fresh from a memorable victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon will be looking to stretch their winning run in Ligue 1 to six matches when they take on Brest on Wednesday evening.
The hosts sit second in the table heading into the fixture at the Groupama Stadium, whereas Brest's strong run of form sees them occupy 10th spot after 14 matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
PSG were outclassed by a tactical masterstroke from Rudi Garcia's Lyon, who managed to stop the champions from scoring on their own turf to win 1-0 at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening.
Tino Kadewere's finely-taken goal in the first half was enough for Les Gones to come up trumps in the battle between two title rivals, with the only dampening aspect for Lyon being Thiago Mendes's red card for a late challenge on Neymar, who is feared to have suffered a serious injury following that tackle.
That crucial victory on PSG's territory has seen Lyon leapfrog the Parisiens in the table, but with Lille also managing to overcome Bordeaux at the weekend, Les Gones currently sit second in the league as Lille lead the way courtesy of a superior goal difference.
Garcia's men have now strung together a five-game winning streak in the top flight, and the Gones faithful will certainly start believing that their side could be the ones to end PSG's unparalleled reign of dominance in the French scene, but Lyon cannot afford to take their foot off the gas at this crucial stage.
Brest are facing the hilliest of battles to stop Lyon in their tracks, as this week's hosts are yet to taste defeat at the Groupama Stadium this season - winning four and drawing two on their own territory.
© Reuters
The visitors are not to be underestimated, though, with Olivier Dall'Oglio's men returning to winning ways at the weekend with a narrow 2-1 triumph over relegation candidates Reims.
Franck Honorat found the back of the net before Arber Zeneli equalised for Reims, and while Steve Mounie saw his first-half penalty saved by Predrag Rajkovic, the former Huddersfield Town man bagged the winner in the 77th minute for Brest.
Dall'Oglio has now witnessed his side march to victory in five of their last six games in the top flight, and the 23 goals that Les Pirates have amassed this season is more than any other team bar the top six.
There is always a winner and loser in Brest's games; Dall'Oglio's men are the only team in the division yet to record a draw in the 2020-21 campaign, with this week's visitors winning seven and losing seven thus far.
That being said, five of the last seven meetings between Lyon and Brest have ended in stalemates, although the hosts have not lost to Les Pirates since the 1990-91 season, while Garcia's men won 3-1 in last season's Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals.
Lyon Ligue 1 form: DWWWWW
Brest Ligue 1 form: WWWWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Lyon will be without the suspended Mendes following his late red card against PSG, with Bruno Guimaraes therefore set for a swift recall to the midfield.
Rayan Cherki comes back from a ban of his own for Wednesday's game, and the teenager will be hopeful of getting some more minutes on the board as Garcia looks to keep his players fresh, with the hosts having no injury concerns whatsoever.
Rotation could be on the cards with the weekend's trip to Nice in mind, with Moussa Dembele, Melvin Bard and Mattia De Sciglio all vying for starts against Brest.
The visitors are not so fortunate with absentees as Ronael Pierre-Gabriel was forced off at half time against Reims with a hamstring injury, and the right-back is definitely out for this one.
Christophe Herelle - a centre-back by trade - could deputise on that side after being brought on for the injured defender at the weekend, while Haris Belkebla will miss out as he serves a suspension.
The void left by Belkebla in midfield should be filled by Cristian Battocchio, with any further changes on the visitors' end unlikely for this daunting fixture.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; De Sciglio, Denayer, Marcelo, Bard; Guimaraes, Aouar, Caqueret; Kadewere, Dembele, Toko Ekambi
Brest possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Herelle, Duverne, Chardonnet, Perraud; Honorat, Lasne, Battocchio, Faivre; Mounie, Cardona
We say: Lyon 3-1 Brest
Brest do not boast the same quality as PSG do in all areas of the pitch, but the visitors are in a terrific place and are sure to give Lyon a good run for their money. However, the hosts will feel unstoppable after beating the champions - with a clean sheet to boot - and Garcia's men should run out comfortable winners on their own turf.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lyon win with a probability of 60.39%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Brest had a probability of 18.16%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lyon win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.21%) and 2-1 (9.95%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.13%), while for a Brest win it was 0-1 (5.17%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood.
