Both Lyon and Marseille will be looking to capitalise on their excellent mid-week Champions League results when they meet in one of French football's biggest matches, which pits two of France's best-supported sides and traditional powerhouses against each other, at the Stade Gerland on Sunday night.

Empty trophy cabinets

Both clubs have a lot to prove this season, having finished the last term trophy-less and both having broken club transfer records during the off-season in an effort to return to the summit of French football and to make a serious impression in the Champions League.

Claude Puel's men have lost only twice this season in all competitions (successive league defeats, 2-0 at home to Sochaux in Week 9 and 4-1 away to Nice in Week 10), soaring to second place behind Bordeaux and qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League with a valiant 1-1 draw at home to Liverpool mid-week.

Despite losing key players in the off-season and having a backline ravaged by injury, Lyon coach Claude Puel has amply demonstrated the strength in depth of his squad by continuing to secure strong results even with makeshift defensive line-ups.

Four clean sheets

Lyon's surprisingly strong defensive performances (6th in the league with only 11 goals conceded, including four clean sheets) have provided an excellent basis for Lyon's attacking play. While new signings Fernandes Michel Bastos and Argentine international Lisandro Lopez (two league goals each) have added another dimension to Lyon's attacking play, the real revelation has been five-goal France international Bafetimbi Gomis, another new recruit, whose movement, power and precision, as well as his knack of scoring decisive goals, have made him a thorn in the side of opposition defences and an instant crowd favourite at the Stade Gerland.

Lyon's great strength so far this campaign has been a team spirit and never-say-die attitude reminiscent of their glory days, perfectly exemplified in their 1-1 home draw to Liverpool mid-week, when Lopez's last-gasp equaliser qualified Lyon once again for the knockout phase of the competition. "To have qualified (in the Champions League) is a great satisfaction but I can tell you that the players finished the match very tired, both psychologically and physically, and we have another important match coming," Puel said.

The OL boss will be relying on his side's character to deal with the fatigue as well as the absences of Pjanic and Réveillère, both injured against Liverpool, on top of more long-term defensive absentees Jean-Alain Boumsong, Mathieu and François Clerc.

Summer shakeout

Marseille on the other hand are doing it tougher than Les Gones this season. With the club undergoing a massive overhaul in the summer, including a new owner, president and coach on top of a raft of summer signings, while at the same time setting its league and European ambitions high, Didier Deschamps' under-pressure outfit has taken some time to settle this season.

Marseille's problems came to fore in September when successive league defeats (3-2 away to Valenciennes in Week 7, 2-1 at home to Monaco in Week 8) and consecutive Champions League losses (2-1 at home to Milan, 3-0 away to Real Madrid) saw them falter in the league and plummet to the bottom of their Champions League group.

Things have turned around however for Deschamps' men since the Monaco defeat, with a 3-0 away thumping of Nancy setting off an unbeaten run that included a draw with Toulouse as well as successive Champions League wins over FC Zürich, 1-0 in Switzerland on Matchday 3 and a resounding 6-1 midweek win at the Stade Vélodrome. "I hope it is a turning point in our season," said Deschamps after the match. "We got the result. Some might say it was only Zürich, but they've proved that they're no easybeats. I know we have the potential and the quality. We did it in style and we need to keep it going for the rest of the season."

"We're very confident now but winning 6-1 here isn't enough to beat Lyon," noted mid-week goalscorer Benoît Cheyrou."It'll be a huge match. We'll have to really push ourselves to the limit, play to our potential."

Deschamps' main injury worry is Lucho Gonzalez, but also missing will be defenders Cyril Rool and Julien Rodriguez. A win for Lyon could send them back to the top of the table while three points for Marseille, who have a game in hand (their Week 10 'Clasico' against Paris was postponed to November 20 following a swine flu outbreak in the Paris camp), could lift the club as high as third place. And with Lyon's 3-1 win at the Stade Vélodrome in Week 36 of last season effectively denying Marseille the title, Lyon will need to be wary of this resurgent French footballing force.

 Sunday, November 08, 2009

 21:00 - Olympique Lyonnais / Olympique de Marseille 

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