On Sunday, Clermont Foot will be looking to edge closer to Lyon in the Ligue 1 table when they go head-to-head at Groupama Stadium.
The two sides are separated by five points in the standings, with eighth-place Lyon leading tenth-place Clermont Foot.
De retour à l’entraînement 👊🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/ImfFCxhOA7— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) December 29, 2022
De retour à l’entraînement 👊🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/ImfFCxhOA7
That said, Lyon will be aiming to chase down the European places, while Clermont Foot hoping to steer clear of the relegation zone. Who will come out on top this weekend?
Lyon head into Sunday’s clash on the back of a 4-2 victory at Brest, thanks to goals from Maxence Caqueret, Rayan Cherki, Alexandre Lacazette and Tete.
That means Laurent Blanc’s side have lost just one of their previous five Ligue 1 games, picking up three wins and one draw in the process.
Lyon have been especially strong on home soil in recent times, suffering only four defeats in their last 27 league games at Groupama Stadium.
Having lost just one of their eight home Ligue 1 games this season, Lyon will be confident of avoiding defeat on Sunday.
As for Clermont Foot, they suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Lille in their first game following the World Cup break.
As a result, Pascal Gastien’s side have only managed to win one of their past seven Ligue 1 outings – recording three draws and three losses in that time.
When you look at the bigger picture, Clermont Foot have won just five of their 16 league games this season – registering four draws and seven defeats.
Having failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their previous nine Ligue 1 clashes, Clermont Foot are expected to concede at least once on Sunday.
Head-to-head: Lyon and Clermont Foot have faced each other twice since the latter gained promotion to Ligue 1 in 2021.
Following a memorable 3-3 draw at Groupama Stadium, Lyon beat Clermont Foot 2-1 at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied last time around.
Team news: Lyon look set to be without the injured quartet of Henrique, Malo Gusto, Houssem Aouar and Jerome Boateng on Sunday.
Clermont Foot right-back Mehdi Zeffane is sidelined with a calf injury, while Maximiliano Caufriez is suspended after picking up a red card in midweek.
It’s fair to say that both Lyon and Clermont Foot have struggled for consistency this season, meaning Sunday’s clash is likely to be a close-fought battle.
Forebet predicts that Lyon and Clermont Foot will play out a high-scoring draw, with both teams scoring over 1.5 goals.