Ligue 1: Ending PSG’s Undefeated Start is a Tall Order for Lyon

Lyon vs Paris Saint-Germain

Lyon are in danger of falling out of the Ligue 1 title race if they don’t get their act together, and the odds are stacked against them when they host PSG at the Groupama Stadium.

After an unbeaten start to the 2022-23 season, Les Gones have lost two straight games and now they’re at fifth place in the French top-flight table with 13 points.

On the other hand, reigning champs PSG have yet to taste defeat in all competitions thus far. They’re on top with 19 points, but they can’t afford to let their guard down since they’re level with Marseille and Lorient.

Even if the pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are favouring the Parisiens, matches between these two sides have been generally tight and fans can expect something similar this Sunday.

Talking Points

Lyon lacking bite

Peter Bosz is seemingly under pressure as he couldn’t generate positive Ligue 1 2022 results as of late. If they lose to PSG at home this weekend, that will leave them nine points adrift off the leaders just eight games into the season.

The main problem for their poor form is their leaky defence as they’ve only secured one clean sheet so far. Les Gones have certainly missed the presence of Jerome Boateng and Jason Denayer at the rear.

Jerome Boateng has been dealing with a muscular injury and is unlikely to play this weekend, while Jason Denayer – for some reason – is still a free agent after his contract with Lyon expired this summer.

Denayer was keen on joining Newcastle United or Wolves on a free, but talks haven’t progressed and perhaps Lyon should consider bringing him back.

For now, their backline is marshalled by Thiago Mendes and the young Castello Lukeba, while Nicolas Tagliafico and Malo Gusto are their full-time starting full-backs.

On the other side of the pitch, Lyon’s frontline have plenty of ammunition. Tete, Karl Toko Ekambi, and Alexandre Lacazette have four goals apiece with Moussa Dembele has two. All of them have to bring it against the defending Ligue 1 champions.

MNM in full effect for PSG

Matching PSG’s firepower sounds impossible for Lyon since Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe are firing on all cylinders lately.

The no-nonsense Christophe Galtier has done a great job of managing the egos of his star trio, particularly putting to bed the highly publicised penalty dispute between Neymar and Mbappe before – at least for now.

They’re coming off a 3-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa in their Champions League group stage match on Thursday. PSG were trailing by one goal courtesy of Tjaronn Chery, but Neymar, Messi and Mbappe responded big time.

Kylian Mbappe tops their scoring charts with 10 goals, while Neymar and Messi combine for 13. The chemistry between these three is only going to get better since there have already been 17 assists between them.

History

PSG and Lyon have formed one of the biggest rivalries in Ligue 1. Even if the Parisiens are the better team lately, Les Gones have always given them a good fight.

In the QSI era, Lyon have picked up the second-most points against PSG (19 – W5, D4, L13) with 15 of those points coming from home (W4, D3, L4) – which is the more than any other side over that span. Only AS Monaco (22) have had more overall.

Lyon are on a two-game losing streak in Ligue 1 for the first time since October 2019. Les Gones haven’t had a longer losing run since February 2018 when they had three.

But Les Gones have won each of their last eight Ligue 1 home matches, which is the longest streak currently in the top five European leagues. Another victory for Lyon would stretch their run to nine games for the first time since January 2015.

The Parisiens, though, are unbeaten in their last 16 league matches (W12, D4) –third behind AC Milan (22) and Manchester City (18) in the top five European leagues – and they’ve kept a clean sheet in each of their last three.

Betting Tip

PSG are tipped by the Ligue 1 2022 odds to extend their unbeaten run. The Parisiens are installed at 1.64, while their visitors are pegged at 4.50 and chances for a draw are at 4.00 in the 1X2 market.

Both sides are going to score in this contest, so Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.28 is another plausible bet. However, due to Lyon’s porous defence, we can only picture PSG taking all three points before heading to international break.

 

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