Lyon head coach Remi Garde says his players should be wary of the threat posed by promoted side Troyes in their Ligue 1 clash on Saturday.
Lyon beat Rennes 1-0 in their opening league fixture of the season last Saturday, but Garde said they will need to play better against a Troyes side with nothing to lose.
“In Saturday’s game, I expect better than last week because I know what it’s like when a newly promoted team comes here early in the season,” he said.
“I think back to the 1-1 draw with Ajaccio last year – that was (a) complicated game where the opponents had nothing to lose and it will be like that on Saturday.
“Straight away I wanted to draw attention to the state of mind we need to approach this fixture. That’s why we have worked hard this week and players have been receptive to what we have discussed.”
“This is a team (Troyes) who like to play, just like their head coach Jean-Marc Furlan.
“And it’s not a coincidence that they have former Lyon youth players there, like (Julien) Faussurier and (Gregory) Bettiol who I knew here.
“It’s a team of players with strong principles of play, which resembles Lorient in spirit. It’s a team that will seek to cause us problems and that does not deny the game.
“They will have nothing to lose here. But when you’re in that mindset, we are ready to do something, hence the vigilance that I tried to teach my players since the beginning of the week.
Garde said Serbia defender Milan Bisevac – who signed from Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday – could feature in the game at the Stade de Gerland.
“In theory he (Bisevac) should be available for selection to play against Troyes on Saturday, but I have to speak with him to assess his of form, although last night he played 45 minutes,” Garde said.
“I have to talk to him but he should be available for selection on Saturday.”
