Lyon and Marseille meet for the first Choc de Olympiques of the season on Sunday, with just four points between the teams in the Ligue 1 table.
Lyon find themselves seventh on 19 points, but with four teams locked on 18 points directly below, they will be eager to avoid defeat this weekend.
☁️ Grey skies didn't stop the boys from training hard ahead of #OLOM as @emersonpalmieri and @XS_11official rejoined the squad!pic.twitter.com/tXac14wJrt— Olympique Lyonnais 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@OL_English) November 17, 2021
☁️ Grey skies didn't stop the boys from training hard ahead of #OLOM as @emersonpalmieri and @XS_11official rejoined the squad!pic.twitter.com/tXac14wJrt
Meanwhile, Marseille sit fourth – level with third-place Nice on 23 points and 11 points behind league-leading Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s fair to say that Lyon have made an indifferent start to the season, having picked up five wins, four draws and four losses from their opening 13 games.
They have lost two of their previous three Ligue 1 outings, suffering a 3-2 defeat to Nice before receiving a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Rennes before the international break.
Still, it is worth pointing out that Lyon have not tasted defeat in any of their previous seven home games in Ligue 1.
Lyon boast a 100% record in the Europa League, having claimed four straight wins. If they can carry their European form onto the domestic stage, they should start climbing the table.
Marseille have made a more promising start to the season, registering six wins, five draws and any two losses from their 13 games.
They have also conceded just 12 goals in Ligue 1, meaning only one team – Nice – have a better defensive record in the division.
Marseille head into Sunday’s showdown on a five-game unbeaten streak in Ligue 1, with two wins and three draws coming since their last loss.
When you look at the bigger picture, Marseille have only lost three of their previous 21 Ligue 1 encounters.
Head-to-head: Marseille have only managed to win one of their last five meetings with Lyon in all competitions, recording two draws and two losses in that time.
Let’s not forget that each of the last three meetings between Lyon and Marseille have produced under 2.5 goals.
Team news: Lyon will be without injured trio Moussa Dembele, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Lenny Pintor this weekend.
Marseille look set to travel to Lyon without right winger Cengiz Under, who recently picked up a hamstring injury.
Considering the low-scoring nature of this derby in recent times, we aren’t likely to see too many goals on Sunday.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Lyon and Marseille will produce a low-scoring draw, although both teams are likely to get on the scoresheet.