Lyon will look to give themselves the best chance possible of ending 2020 at the top of the Ligue 1 table when they welcome a struggling Nantes to the Groupama Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The hosts eased to a 4-1 victory at Nice in their last outing, while Nantes managed to hold Angers to a draw in gameweek 16.
Match preview
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The 2020-21 Ligue 1 title race is already shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent history, with perennial champions Paris Saint-Germain faltering and Lyon, Marseille and Lille all looking to take advantage.
Lyon ensured that they remained on track with a crushing 4-1 victory at Nice on Saturday evening, with Memphis Depay, Tino Kadewere, Karl Toko Ekambi and Houssem Aouar all finding the back of the net against the struggling Aiglons.
Rudi Garcia's men briefly found themselves at the top of the pile following that win, but with Lille and PSG's encounter ending goalless on Sunday evening, Lyon have been pushed back down into second with Lille leading the way.
However, a solitary goal is the difference between first-placed Lille and second-placed Lyon as things stand, although PSG are only one point behind the top two and will not give up their crown without a fight, but Lyon's form suggests that Garcia's men are serious contenders for the 2020-21 title.
Les Gones have triumphed in six of their last seven in the top flight and will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run to 14 matches against Nantes, with top spot there for the taking if Lille fail to win at Montpellier this week.
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Meanwhile, Patrick Collot is still waiting for his first victory as Nantes manager since taking over from Christian Gourcuff, and Les Canaris needed a huge slice of luck to take a point from their clash with Angers.
Les Scoistes broke the deadlock through Romain Thomas's header just before half time, but an attempted clearance from Farid El Melali struck the chest of Nantes left-back Charles Traore and looped into the net deep into injury time.
The fortunate equaliser sent Nantes players into delirium, but there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a woeful end to the year for this week's visitors, who are now winless in seven since a 2-0 victory at Lorient on November 8.
Collot's men will certainly not be expected to come up trumps in their clash with an in-form Lyon outfit either, and with Reims and Strasbourg only one point behind Nantes as things stand, Les Canaris could finish the year as low as 17th if results do not go their way this week.
However, Nantes have actually managed to beat Lyon in their last two league encounters - including a 1-0 win on Les Gones' turf last season - but the most recent meeting ended with Lyon winning 4-3 in the 2019-20 Coupe de France.
Lyon Ligue 1 form: WWWWDW
Nantes Ligue 1 form: DLLDLD
Team News
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Lyon's Thiago Mendes has served a two-game suspension following his challenge on PSG's Neymar, and the Brazilian midfielder is able to return for this one.
Mendes could challenge Bruno Guimaraes for a spot in Garcia's midfield, but the Gones manager will be reluctant to make many changes at all before the Christmas break.
Should the hosts' indeed freshen the pack, Rayan Cherki and Maxence Caqueret are among those vying for minutes, but Garcia has revealed that Moussa Dembele will be sidelined after breaking his arm in training.
As for Nantes, Collot will have to make do without Fabio and Ludovic Blas - both of whom are suspended for this game due to an accumulation of bookings.
Sebastien Corchia and Dennis Appiah will be battling it out to start in Fabio's place at right-back, while Marcus Coco is in line for a recall to the right-hand side in place of Blas.
Pedro Chirivella could also be handed a start in the Canaris midfield, but strikers Kalifa Coulibaly and Jean-Kevin Augustin both occupy spots in the infirmary.
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Dubois, Denayer, Marcelo, Cornet; Guimaraes, Aouar, Paqueta; Kadewere, Depay, Toko Ekambi
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Corchia, Pallois, Girotto, Traore; Chirivella, Toure; Coco, Louza, Simon; Emond
We say: Lyon 3-0 Nantes
Nantes fans will have fond memories of their team's trip to the Groupama Stadium last season, but the two sides are enduring completely contrasting fortunes this time around. Les Gones certainly look capable of marching to top-flight glory, whereas Nantes are still finding their feet under Collot, so this should be a resounding win for Garcia's side.
Top betting tip
Ben Knapton
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 61.83%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Nantes had a probability of 16.64%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lyon win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.14%) and 2-1 (9.88%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.23%), while for a Nantes win it was 0-1 (5.3%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Lyon would win this match.
