Lorient vs Lyon Prediction & Betting Tips (9 March)

Well on its way to holding on during the winter break, FC Lorient has erased a lot of its errors since the restart to place itself in an ideal position in the race to hold on before the final sprint. Relaunched by the arrivals of several great winter recruits, Régis Le Bris' players were able to achieve several valuable successes in 2024 which allowed them to leave the red zone and are now in 14th position in the ranking, with 1 point ahead of the Le Havre roadblock. After being able to win 3 victories in a row against Metz 1-2, Reims 2-0 and Strasbourg 1-3, the Merlus were surprised by FC Nantes 0-1. But last Sunday, they won the Breton derby against Rennes by being very effective in both surfaces 1-2. A bit like what their opponent of the day experienced, Olympique Lyonnais experienced a very trying first part of the season. But he also took advantage of the winter transfer window to strengthen himself and start with a new dynamic.

In full swing since the end of January, Les Gones were able to win 4 victories in a row in Ligue 1 against Marseille 1-0, Montpellier 1-2, Nice 0-1 and Metz 1-2. But last weekend, the Rhone residents were violently cut off in their momentum at home by RC Lens 0-3. In the standings, Pierre Sage's men are now in 11th place with 3 units ahead of their host of the day. Note that last week, they also validated their qualification for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France by eliminating Strasbourg on penalties.

Among the Bretons, midfielder Boisgard, world champion full-back Benjamin Mendy, and potentially starting defender Igor Silva will not be available to Régis Le Bris. Furthermore, starting central defender Talbi and midfielder Innocent are also absent this weekend but replacement goalkeeper Gomis will be back after being banned from playing against Rennes to whom he belongs. Arriving this winter, piston Katseris, midfielder Louza or striker Bamba (Wolfsberger) all helped breathe new life into this formation. The latter even scored their 6th goal in 6 matches played in Ligue 1 last week. The young Kroupi reached the mark of 5 goals. Last minute withdrawal against Lens, the scorer Alexandre Lacazette (12 goals in Ligue 1) did not train on Wednesday with the group and ultimately did not appear in the group.

This is also the case for winter recruit Mangala (ill) and promising El Arouch (in the recovery phase). In addition, coach Pierre Sage will be deprived of his English right-back Maitland-Niles who was sent off at the end of the match against Lens on Sunday evening. On the other hand, midfielder Tolisso made his return against Racing last weekend. Winter recruits Benrahma, Orban and Matic are applying to start this Saturday at Moustoir.