Ninth will travel to eighth this weekend in France as Lyon meet with Nantes at the Groupama Stadium with the two clubs merely set to plod their way to the season's end with them now unable to get in on any European action for next season.
After a stunning loss to the already-relegated Metz away from home, Lyon's abysmal season has all but ended now as they cannot get back into Europe.
🎥 The day's training ⤵️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Xgv7TQWcrJ— Olympique Lyonnais 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@OL_English) May 10, 2022
🎥 The day's training ⤵️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Xgv7TQWcrJ
The aim for a club so gargantuan in France is to fight for the title at the most, and be within the Champions League spot in second as a bare minimum.
Now, they sit 10 points behind the Europa League spot of third, and cannot even qualify for the Europa League Conference play-offs spot in fifth with Rennes now seven points clear with only six points left.
The defeat to Metz was also loss number 10 of the campaign for the club with them on just 15 wins from 36 matches this season, which has still seen them register an impressive 61 goals.
However, their home form has been shocking at times, such as the 3-0 loss at home to rivals Marseille, while they've struggled all season long against teams in the bottom half.
Lyon have been nothing but inconsistent this campaign, and manager Peter Bosz will be in desperate need of a reaction to the Metz loss, as if they lose this game to Nantes, his side could drop as low as 10th come the end of the season, with Lille only four points behind in 10th, while Nantes are ninth and looking to overtake Lyon with a win this weekend.
As for Nantes, their recent run of form has been nothing short of miraculous. The club have managed to seriously distance themselves from the bottom five within the past two months, as they've registered a 5-3 win over Bordeaux, and a 2-1 win over Champions League chasers, Rennes.
However, the club will never forget the day of May 7, 2022, as Nantes beat Nice in the French Cup final thanks to a penalty from Ludovic Blas as the club won their first bit of silverware in 21 years in France after their Ligue 1 triumph in 2001.
It was a return back to the glory years for Nantes, who once upon a time used to dominate the trophy department in Ligue 1.
Despite the glory, Lyon may have too much and Forebet predicts a home win and the game to see over 2.5 goals.